Hate Everything About You
by taniita
Summary: James Potter just seems to get worse and worse until Lily Evans is completely convinced that he's bad down to the core. But a challenging time comes around and Lily starts to see that maybe there IS more to the infamous, bigheaded James Potter.
1. Prologue

**Hate Everything About You  
  
Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that J. K. Rowling thought of and wrote about. I own Mandy and other random characters in the story.  
**

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Prologue  
  
Ever since the time she'd first laid eyes on him in Diagon Alley, she'd known he was a bad egg. Someone who wasn't going to be too easy to get along with. Of course, an 11-year-old James Potter was an angel compared to the fifteen-year-old one. He'd gone from bad, to worse, to despicable in a mere four years. She wouldn't care if he'd made that transition over 20 years – nothing would alter her view of him.  
  
Lily Evans hated James Potter. That was all there was to it. She hated the messy black hair that lay on that arrogant head of his down to his trampling feet that had degraded so many people, and everything in between.  
  
"Lily, dear, there's nothing wrong with a bit of arrogance at his age, just let him grow out of it and it'll all get better," her mother had said in attempt to comfort her every one of the countless times she'd complained and ranted on about the despicable James Potter.  
  
And she'd taken that advice. She'd tried to be as patient as she could throughout all of the name-calling, pranks, and other nonsenses that she and many other people had to take from Potter. But no, he just got worse. So much for her mother's advice.  
  
When she had entered fifth year, she'd decided to try one last spurt of this seemingly false hope of believing that Potter had changed. Of course, she'd been right again. False hopes.  
  
What made it especially worse this year was that it seemed that Potter had started liking her as, well, more than a prank victim. Actually, this had started near the end of their fourth year, but Lily, being the optimistic person she was, had hoped he'd forget about her over the summer. How wrong she was.  
  
James' arrogance seemed to have doubled during those two months of freedom, if that was possible. Naturally, that meant that he was even more sure of the fact that, eventually, Lily would go out with him. 'After all, who can resist my pure charm and seductive powers?' she'd mocked silently every time he'd asked her out, just knowing that he would say those exact words next. Oh, and he'd asked her out many a time; twenty times a week could be considered an understatement at best.  
  
Lily was tired of this. She'd said "no", "NO", and downright "NO!!!" so many times that her lips seemed to have become stuck in that position. Sometimes it was even tempting just to say 'YES YES YES!' for once so as to hear herself saying a different word. To James Potter, that is. Aside from the constant fights, bickerings, and yells aplenty, 'no' was virtually the only word she ever said to him.  
  
In fact, she was so used to Potter's sharp intake of breath before asking her a question that she'd said "NO Potter," to even the simplest of requests ('Could you pass the salt, Lily?') before they'd even come out. It was becoming rather boring.  
  
It wasn't just that she despised every bit of James that made her turn him down each time; there was also his reputation to consider. The main thing that had made Potter go from 'worse to despicable' around the beginning of fourth year was his abrupt change of attitude towards girls. They were now to be considered objects of affection in addition to the usual (again) victims of pranks... and people to laugh at.  
  
Once this had started and all of the school was informed, girls from every house (even some from Slytherin) had come crawling to his feet to confess their love for him. And typical Potter had soaked up all this glory and was even more of a pompous jerk.  
  
"Oh, no, really; you want me to marry you? How about a date first? Let's say next Hogsmeade weekend," James had said to probably the fifth girl that had asked him out during the first three days of fourth year. "Yes, I know what you're thinking, and yes, it will be a full-out snog session. Don't you worry!" He smiled his something-of-a-smirk-turned-romantic that every girl but Lily, probably, found melt-worthy.  
  
That same girl, and the many others that had gotten 'lucky' enough to go out with James, had been left to rot no more than a week after their first outing. Potter seemed to have a very short attention span. Once the girls had started crying on his shoulder about bullying Slytherins, low grades, make-up problems, and virtually everything else bothering them, James had gotten bored and dumped them. To leave them crying, and only to start drooling over him again the next day.  
  
Hence, Lily, and her friends that had not yet gone out with Potter, had come up with a universal name for all of the girlfriends James Potter had ever had ("And ever will have," Lily had added, rolling her eyes) : One- weekers.  
  
This name had managed to spread around the whole school, and the girls who hadn't already known from their friends how Potter would treat them if they ever went out with him were now fully aware of what the results of dating him would be. And still they went drooling after him, just to be able to spend one precious week with the bloke of their dreams. They didn't care about what would come after.  
  
Lily knew that the only reason why Potter claimed to 'love' her was that she was the only one who didn't come crawling to him; the only one who was utterly against the One-weeker thing; and definitely the only one who had the nerve to show it. This torture from Potter got her on the 'People with Bad Taste' list for many girls that had had their eyes on James but had never had the 'privilege' of dating him. These girls thought that Lily was a near freak to turn Potter down. They threw Lily jealous, even reproachful, looks during class; it was hard enough to endure the constant, stupidly arrogant, flashy smiles from Potter.  
  
Don't get me wrong; Lily still had a lot of friends. She was probably one of the most popular girls in the fifth year. She was smart, kind, pretty, and an all-around great person. Many people admired her for her individuality, her bravery, her nerve. Of course, not all of her friends agreed with her views on Potter. Even her best friends Mandy and Alice, though not among the ranks of Potter's drooling admirers, were a little reluctant to say that they outright hated him. They disliked his personality, sure, but really – he couldn't be quite that bad deep down, could he? Lily thought he could. She knew he could.  


* * *

**A/N Ok so this is kind of a prologue just so that you know how she feels about James in general; you'll find out more about others later on, I promise. The next chappie is gonna take place during sometime after the Christmas holidays in fifth year. Promise to have it up soon! Tani =) P.S. Please review! I need constructive criticism, or I'll die! Really!!! (heheh...)  
  
**[This chapter has been edited... for the good of all readers.] 


	2. Collisions

**Hate Everything About You**

**Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that J. K. Rowling thought of and wrote about. I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story. **

**A/N I changed my mind; the story starts near the end of fifth year (right before OWLs start)**

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Chapter One: Collisions

Lily was having a particularly bad morning. She'd slept in, and may well have slept right through Charms if it weren't for Mandy (Yelling, "LILY! POTTER IS ATTEMPTING TO KISS YOU! SLAP HIM BEFORE HE HAS THE CHANCE!" always worked). That Charms class was very important, mind you. It was the Friday before their OWLs, and that was their last review class before the exams. They needed it. Badly. Not that Lily was horrible at Charms – it was her best subject – but she needed some time to practice.

During class, Professor Flitwick had insisted that they practiced summoning chams, even though they were fourth-year level. "You never know what will come up in OWLs, so you have to be ready for anything!" he'd reminded them squeakily, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

So the students all stood at one end of the classroom, summoning pillows, then sending them back to the other side of the room into the boxes in which the pillows were stacked. Lily was working with a great amount of concentration, determined not to screw up on such an easy charm, when a pillow flew out of nowhere to knock down the one she was currently summoning.

"Sorry, Lils!" Alice said from nearly the other end of the long row of students facing the pillow boxes. "Pointed my wand in the wrong direction, is all!" she explained hastily.

Forgetting to use the summoning charm, Lily walked over to the middle of the classroom to retrieve the fallen pillow. Suddenly she felt a bit of a tugging sensation, and she glided across the room – right into James Potter's outstretched arms. He'd summoned her instead of a pillow, evidently.

"What are you doing, Potter? You're supposed to summon pillows, not people." Lily said coldly as she withdrew herself from his arms.

"Well you do know that summoning charms require use of a wand, and not just walking into the middle of the classroom where you're in everyone's way?" he said with a smirk.

"Oh shut it, Potter. I know what you're going to ask, and my answer is no. Not in a million years would I ever-"

"-Turn down a request for you to go out with me?" he grinned. A slightly boyish, devil-trying-to-look-innocent type of grin. With a touch – no, a whole heap – of arrogance added into it.

Lily just rolled her eyes. "You know-" she began, but seemed to think the better of it. Instead, she turned on her heel and went back to her spot to practice her summoning charms, this time with an added vigor. 'This day doesn't seem to be getting any better, does it? First sleeping in, then breakfast, then this,' she thought to herself.

What had happened at breakfast was that _someone _had enchanted the porridge to start singing whenever anyone lifted some to their mouth. This, of course, had been the cause of surprised outcries and the flipping over of porridge bowls. It had been Lily's duty, along with the other prefects, to clean up the porridge mess and stop it from singing (once it had started, it didn't stop). Remus Lupin, the other fifth year prefect of Gryffindor and one of James Potter's closest friends, had found it all quite funny. For the second time already, Lily had been very close to completely missing Charms. Luckily, Professor Dumbledore had let the students go to their classes in the nick of time, to leave the rest of the mess for himself and Mr. Filch to deal with.

And now Potter was pestering her again. Though (unlike the other two occurrences) this annoyance was part of her daily routine, it was the worst to bear. 'Really, he's got nothing better to do than bug me all day? Oh yes, and there's pranks to consider. And snogging every pretty girl in sight. And being a downright jerk. Why can't Potter ever do anything... useful?' Lily thought, not for the first time. The events of today weren't really that surprising, but with all of the extra stress mounted on the fifth- and seventh-years, even the smallest of things that were out of the ordinary could make a person pop.

At lunch, Lily complained to her friends about exactly that. "...I mean, really! I didn't even try to get back at Potter, I just let it slip! What is this world coming to?"

"Really, Lily, if you want Potter to be less of a jerk, letting it slip may be a bit of a better path," Mandy advised, her warm brown eyes full of sympathy for Lily nonetheless.

"That boy has got some issues, though. It's been nearly a year since Potter's started bothering Lily, and he just won't quit! Just give her a break, Mandy," Alice defended.

"When you say 'that boy's got some issues', you _do_ mean 'that monster's the biggest, most arrogant, cowardly, and stupidly persistant prat to ever walk this earth', right?" Lily said, issuing a bit of a smirk. They'd had countless conversations concerning ways they could stop James from bothering Lily, and they'd all ended with something along the lines of Lily launching a long string of insulting words about Potter.

Before Alice could open her mouth to defend Potter as well, their fellow fifth year, Amber, had come to sit with them.

"Hello, girls! Guess who I've got myself a date with?" Amber said, flushed. Her wavy, light brown hair seemed a bit damp. She'd probably just been outside, where it was raining.

"Amos Diggory? Gilderoy Lockhart?" her friends guessed.

"No, better!" Amber grinned. She looked towards the door of the Great Hall, where someone else who'd evidently just been in the rain had entered.

"No!" Lily said, also looking in that direction, "Sirius Black? You _do_ know that he's just as low as Potter when it comes to dating, if not lower?" Sirius Black was James Potter's best friend, and was considered just as good looking and melt-worthy as Potter was. Sadly, he was just as arrogant... and followed the rule of the One-weekers just as perfectly as well. At least he didn't pester Lily. He only talked to the girls who showed interest.

"Well – yes." Amber confessed, and then said defensively, "But, really, he's quite a nice guy. Very charming. I – I won't be _too_ put out if we break up. I mean, I can always find someone else." This was very true. Many a time had she been asked out by other boys. And nobody had ever turned her down, though she'd turned down many. At least she wasn't quite as serious as the other three girls were, and was more fun-loving, so long-term relationships didn't suit her all that well in the first place.

"Well, we're proud of you nonetheless, Amber," Alice smiled, even though she, too, disliked Black.

"But if that git breaks your heart," Mandy began viciously, tossing her straight brown hair with malice, "he'll have us to answer to." She balled her hand into a fist.

Lily smiled. This was true, of course – even if it was Amber's own fault for falling into the 'Sirius trap'. She laughed and added, "We'll make him wish he'd never been born!"

"Definitely!" Mandy laughed, as she gave Lily a high-five. Mandy had always been the energetic type, and was never afraid to show her emotions strongly and clearly. You really wouldn't want to be in her way when she was angry, though she was generally a very kind-hearted, forgiving person. She wanted the best for people and believed in second chances – a reason why she didn't hate James as openly as Lily did. It seemed that looking out for her friends, as she was sure to be doing during Amber and Sirius' sure-to-be-short relationship, was always Mandy's primary goal.

The girls then spent the rest of lunch hour plotting revenge against Sirius, just in case.

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Potions was the last class of the day, and Lily scurried along the corridors to get to class. She was immersed in the re-reading of her notes, so that she could remember everything for their not-so-surprise review quiz they were having in preparation for their OWLs. Though very shrewd and unforgiving, Professor O'Brien was a fair teacher, and had given them a week's notice for this theory paper they were to write.

In fact, Lily was so immersed in her notes that she hadn't noticed where she was going until she collided into something rather solid, but not cold as the stone walls should be. Not quite as hard, or flat, either. Lily had walked right into James Potter.

Lily, rather flustered, looked up as she heard him say, "Really, Evans, how many times do you plan to collide with me today?"

Her concentration now gone, she stepped back to face him properly. Her flustered, worried look had now turned to a cold, brisk, and thoroughly annoyed expression. She spoke, but with a forced calm in her voice. "The FIRST time I ... _collided_... with you today was at the cause of your stupid summoning charm, so it was not entirely my fault. And this time, it was completely unintentional, because as you can see on the floor all around me, I was busy reading my notes for the Potions review paper we'll be writing today. Now if you'll excuse me-" She bent down to pick up the rolls of parchment that had been scattered onto the floor.

James crouched down beside her to help.

Lily sighed. "Yet another attempt to win over my heart so that I'll go out with you?" She stood up, her notes piled in her arms.

Rumpling his hair, James stood up as well. He put on a stupid, but flashy, grin. "Well, yes, actually. I hear there's a Hogsmeade weekend once the OWLs are over."

"I don't know #_how_ to make this clear to you. I. Will. Never. Go. Out. With. You." Seeing the smirk on Potter's face, she decided to use another effective means of conveying the message. She spoke slowly, as if to a toddler. "My answer is NO."

The smug smirk on his face only grew more pronounced. "Well why not? Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup... and mostly because of yours truly, the star Chaser. Also, I've got outstanding grades, not to mention looks. And there's my social status to consider as well!"

"Listen. I don't care what you're good at, what you've achieved, or who you hang around with. And I wouldn't care less if you looked uglier than Snape!" Lily began, frustrated. She speculated a bit, and, knowing this was a bit of a lie, spat, "And speaking of Snape, I'd sooner go out with him than with YOU any day!" She pushed James out of her way and proceeded down to the dungeons, her last-minute review forgotten.

James turned to the girls he'd been entertaining earlier and gave a nervous chuckle. "Can you imagine that? She'd rather go snog Snivelly Snape than me!" He tried to make it seem as though this information was trivial; that he didn't care one bit about Lily Evans. The girls gasped and stared down the hall in the direction she'd left, shocked, even though they'd overheard the whole thing. "Well, uh, I – I've got to go... to class, you know. Wouldn't want to – to be, er, late, would I?" said James, trying and failing to sound arrogant and haughty.

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**A/N: So that's chap one... is it too long? Well anyways; please review! Hope you liked it. Oh, and I hope I didn't bother you too much with the descriptions of people that I stuck into the girls' conversation before.**

((This chapter has been edited... for the good of all readers.))


	3. You make me SICK!

**Hate Everything About You  
  
Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. I don't even own the plot in this chapter, 'cause it's taken from OotP, but put into Lily's and James' POV (yea, I just ruined the whole chap for u, didn't I?) I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.**  


* * *

Chapter Two: You make me SICK!  
  
'And speaking of Snape, I'd sooner go out with him than with YOU any day!'  
  
These words rang through James Potter's head all weekend. They haunted him. Was this really true? Had Lily meant this? She would rather go out with that... greasy, grimy, know-it-all, idiot, piece of scum than with James? He must be bad. Or Snivellus was much better (for lack of a better word) that he looked.  
  
James wasn't going to let Lily's preference of Snape make his already slim chances even slimmer. It was hard to admit, even to himself, that his chances of going out with Lily Evans weren't too big, but it was true.  
  
James had already made up his mind. He was going to get back at Snape. It was all his fault. Of course, the best way (in James' opinion) to help Lily realize what a git Snivellus was would be to humiliate him in front of everyone. Everyone being, of course, Lily... and James' fellow Marauders, since he didn't really go anywhere without them. Except when he was flirting with admirers... or on dates...  
  
------------------------------------------------  
  
"Prongs, mate, I think studying involves some reading, not just staring at your notes and hoping it all seeps into your brain!" Sirius said, waving a hand in front of James' face.  
  
James snapped out of his daydreaming. He'd been imagining how admiringly Lily would react to the marvelous hexes he would put on Snape during the little escapade that was soon to come.  
  
"Right – right. Er... what are we studying for, again?" It was Sunday night and everyone was nearly asleep in their notes.  
  
"Potions, you dolt!" Sirius laughed. "Not like we need to study, though..."  
  
"Of course we need to study!" Remus interjected. "The Potions exam is tomorrow! You realize how important these OWLs are? They affect out future, our careers! If you two want to be Aurors you've got to take NEWT level Potions! They won't accept you if you have less than an Outstanding in your OWLs, so you'll probably be..."  
  
As Remus continued his lecture, Sirius and James had a conversation of their own.  
  
"Aurors? When did we say we wanted to be Aurors?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Haven't we always wanted to be Aurors? Fighting dark wizards... getting all this fame... and looking great! All at the same time," James grinned.  
  
"Oh... right. 'Always' meaning when we found out that 'pranksters' wasn't a career choice?"  
  
"Exactly. Ok, I think Moony's just about done his lecture. Put on a serious face and nod, so he thinks we were listening. And then I guess we should study, or he'll start it all over again." James nearly moaned at the thought. Remus really wasn't THAT bad – he was a great friend, in fact, and a brilliant prankster – but he was really too wrapped up in all this... education... stuff.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
Lily wasn't ready for this. OWLs started tomorrow and would last all week. She'd done countless hours of reviewing and studying, which were more recently focused on their Potions exam the next morning. Mandy, Alice, and Amber were studying with her as well.  
  
For the fifth time in no more than twenty minutes, Amber bashed her forehead into the table (where her notes were spread) despairingly. "I am NEVER going to survive this exam. How am I supposed to remember what the ingredients for the Draught of Peace are? Or – or what being too heavy- handed with the ingredients will do to those who drink it? And that review paper that we did; I didn't know half of the answers! I'll be happy if I get a D on my OWL!"  
  
The girls looked at Amber as if she were crazy.  
  
"Amber," Lily began firmly, "There is NO way you are getting a 'Dreadful' on your Potions exam. The only grade lower than that is T, for 'Troll'! You've gotten good marks in your other Potions exams – the normal ones – so why fret about this one?"  
  
"Because it's important! Look! Even Potter and Black are studying!"  
  
The girls looked over to where James and Sirius sat. They looked as if they really were studying, after all.  
  
"Well there's something you don't see every day," Lily snorted.  
  
Mandy and Alice, who had gone back to their studying once Lily had taken over in helping Amber, looked up.  
  
"Well would you look at that?" Mandy said, amused. "I've seen them study before, though."  
  
"Oh, I remember, before the exams last year," Alice agreed, "That, or they were re-reading their plans for a spectacular end-of-year prank they wanted to pull."  
  
"Didn't they pull a prank like that last year?" Amber asked.  
  
Lily was tired of this conversation. Once the subject became the Marauders' pranks, she was uninterested. She turned back to her notes, half studying, half listening, but only because she couldn't concentrate any longer.  
  
"Oh! I remember! That one with the porridge?"  
  
"No, no. That was on Friday, when they made it so that the porridge would sing whenever you tried to eat any. Then everyone got scared and there was a porridge mess all over the Great Hall, remember?"  
  
"Don't remind me," Lily grumbled under her breath, so that her friends couldn't hear.  
  
"Yes, Alice, Mandy's right. It was something else. Something bigger, I think."  
  
The girls bickered about it for a very long time until, to their surprise, Lily finally spoke up.  
  
She sighed. "They fed the post owls laxatives, that Muggle medicine that makes you – you know..." The girls remembered this and nodded in agreement, though with looks of disgust on their face.  
  
At the end of fourth year, Remus had asked his Muggle father to send him laxatives with the family owl. Actually, huge supplies of laxatives. Lily had heard from someone that he'd said in a letter that 'I am having a bit of problems, but it's not only me. It's my friends, too, so could you send up a bottle each for the twenty of them?' They'd managed to give some to every owl that was in the Owlery before breakfast had started. You could only imagine what the owls brought ten minutes later, in addition to the post.  
  
"Now, I think I'll get back to studying. You?" Lily said.  
  
Having snapped out of their flashbacks concerning last year's big prank, her friends nodded. They looked a bit dazed, and went hurriedly back to their notes before they vomited.  
  
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Exam time had come. The OWLs were difficult, but not quite as hard as Lily would have expected. She knew she'd pulled at least an 'Acceptable' for every one so far – Potions, Charms, History of Magic, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and the practical exam for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tomorrow, Thursday, she had a written Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, and the afternoon off, as the Astronomy exam would have to take place at night. She was looking forward to that time to study for Transfiguration and Arithmancy. All was well in Lily's schedule.  
  
"Well, I'm just about done studying for Herbology. I think I'd better get to sleep," Alice concluded.  
  
These words were greeted by blank stares.  
  
Suddenly, Amber seemed to come back to life. "We have a Herbology exam tomorrow? WHAT?"  
  
Mandy snapped out of her trance as well. "No, we wrote that... yesterday! Why on earth were you studying for our Herbology OWL if we've already written it, Alice?"  
  
Alice looked down at her notes. "Oh... these aren't my Herbology notes? I could've sworn they were. Well, I guess they're my Defense Against the Dark Arts stuff."  
  
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Lily could have laughed.  
  
"Goodness, Alice. If we weren't all as tired as you are right now, we would've thought you were crazy!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
James leaned back in his chair to check over his answers. This Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL had been a piece of cake. He yawned, rumpling his hair absent-mindedly. Making sure that Professor Flitwick wasn't looking, James turned in his seat, grinning at Sirius, who sat a couple of seats behind him. Once Sirius had given him the thumbs up, he turned back to face his desk.  
  
'So booored....' James thought. He ripped a small piece of parchment and started doodling absentmindedly. Soon he had drawn a Snitch, and was now tracing the letters 'L.E.' While he did this, he smiled. 'The two things I love most in this world, summed up on a scrap of parchment. Quidditch... and Lily Evans.'  
  
Suddenly, Professor Flitwick said to all of the students, "Quills down, please! That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment. Accio!"  
  
The over-a-hundred rolls of parchment that zoomed into his arms knocked poor Professor Flitwick right off his feet. James laughed along with some of his classmates (or rather... _year_-mates). He watched as Lily and some of her friends went to help their Charms teacher up again. He smirked, but only to hide what would originally have been a bit of a longing look in her direction.  
  
"Thank you ... thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"  
  
James looked up, hastily crossing out the 'L.E.' he had been embellishing, and jumped to his feet. He stuffed his quill and exam paper into his bag, which he slung over his back, then waited for Sirius.  
  
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stood at the door of the Great Hall, waiting for those in front of them to exit.  
  
"Did you like question ten, Moony?" Sirius asked as they finally emerged into the Entrance Hall.  
  
"Loved it," Remus smiled. "'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."  
  
James put on his best mock-concern type voice, and asked, "D'you think you managed to get all the signs?"  
  
"Think I did," Moony said, sounding thoroughly serious. "One: he's sitting in my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin."  
  
They all laughed, except Peter.  
  
"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "but I couldn't think what else –"  
  
James had an impulse to laugh at Wormtail. 'So stupid!' he thought, before saying, "How thick are you, Wormtail? You run around with a werewolf once a month –"  
  
"Keep your voice down!" Remus said, his voice dangerously low.  
  
The Marauders got out onto the grounds and strode off towards the lake.  
  
"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake. I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least," Sirius said haughtily.  
  
"Me too," James agreed. He reached into his pocket to take out a Golden Snitch that had been bothering him quite a bit during the exam with its continuous struggling.  
  
"Where'd you get that?"  
  
"Nicked it," James said. He'd already done so many times this year, so it came as no surprise to his friends. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to get as much as a foot away from him before seizing it again. He nearly laughed at Peter, who was watching him in awe.  
  
They stopped in the shade of the usual beech tree they sat at whenever they were just lounging around on the grounds. It was right by the edge of the lake, close to where Lily and her friends were sitting, with their shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water.  
  
As he played with the Snitch, letting it get further and further away from him (with Wormtail gasping and applauding nearby), James shot glances at Lily. Was she looking at him? He wanted to impress her if she was. He rumpled his hair – if she saw him, she'd think it was disgusting how tidy it had gotten.  
  
"Put that away will you," said Sirius finally, just as James made an outstanding catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, "before Wormtail wets himself with excitement."  
  
James grinned. "If it bothers you," he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket.  
  
"I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was full moon."  
  
"You might," Moony said darkly from behind a book he was reading. "We've still got Transfiguration; if you're bored you could test me. Here..." He held his book out to Sirius.  
  
But Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all."  
  
James looked around, studying the grounds, and the students that were there. Finally, he spotted his target. It was payback time. Payback for those who made his chances of going out with Lily slimmer than slim. It was his entire fault – not James'.  
  
"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is..."  
  
Sirius' head turned. As he would in his canine form, he became very still, as though he'd just scented a rabbit.  
  
"Excellent," he said softly. "_Snivellus_."  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
The Defense Against the Dark Arts exam now over, Lily and her friends had the afternoon and evening to do whatever they wanted. Mostly, that was studying, but for now they decided to relax.  
  
Lily, Alice, Mandy, and Amber made their way to the lake.  
  
"Oh, it's so hot outside," Alice said. The others agreed.  
  
"Maybe we should go swimming!" Amber suggested.  
  
"No, too lazy to get my bathing suit," Mandy said. "Plus, I think I forgot how to swim. I nearly drowned when we were swimming at our cottage during Easter holidays."  
  
Mandy was a Muggle-born witch, just like Lily. Alice and Amber, though, were purebloods, so they didn't have a clue of what Mandy was talking about.  
  
They finally reached the lake as Lily and Mandy explained what a cottage was, and what Muggles did there. Lily's family didn't have a cottage, but she had visited her Muggle friend's one summer; she'd had a blast.  
  
"So, now that we're done clearing up some Muggle, er... terminology... what are we going do if not swim?" Lily asked.  
  
As they thought about this, some of their friends from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joined them.  
  
"Hey! How's it going?" one of them asked.  
  
"Oh, we're fine... just trying to decide what we should do during the short amount of relaxation time that our schedules permit us," Lily said.  
  
"Just relaxing, talking, and fooling around is fine with us!" Cathy Baites, a Ravenclaw, said brightly.  
  
"Well, as long as we're just doing that, I think I'll dip my feet in the lake. It's sweltering hot out here and my feet are_ killing_ me," Amber said.  
  
Many of the girls replied with an, "Ooh, me too!"  
  
"Amber? Why would your feet hurt?" Mandy asked. "We've barely walked all day; we were writing an exam all morning!"  
  
"I dunno... my shoes are a bit too small."  
  
"Well, buy new ones!"  
  
"Are there any shoe stores in Hogsmeade? Because we're going there on Saturday, right?"  
  
As her friends had this conversation, Lily looked around. Something a bit peculiar caught her eye. James Potter and Sirius Black were hanging around with Severus Snape?  
  
No, not hanging around with him. They were advancing on him. Their wands were raised and Snape appeared to be momentarily frozen. A crowd had started to gather around the scene.  
  
Lily quickly looked down at the ground to avoid James' gaze as he looked over his shoulder. She didn't want him to think she was cheering him on; she wasn't doing that at all. She was going to stop this before it had started. Though, really, it already had.  
  
Lily jammed on her socks and slipped her shoes on as fast as she could. She ran over to where the scene was taking place just as James said coldly, "Wash out your mouth. Scourgify!"  
  
Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once. The froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him –  
  
Something had to be done.  
  
"Leave him ALONE!" Lily screamed.  
  
Potter and Black spun around, Potter's free hand ruffling his hair. 'Idiot. He knows it can't get any messier, why does he even bother?' she thought.  
  
"All right, Evans?" Potter said.  
  
Ignoring his question, Lily repeated, "Leave him alone." She glared at James. "What's he done to you?"  
  
"Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean..."  
  
Potter's little crowd laughed. Lily remained stock still.  
  
"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."  
  
"I will if you go out with me, Evans," Potter said quickly. "Go on... go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."  
  
Lily stared at James, hoping that all of her dislike of him would show. Since her Snape tactic hadn't worked, she'd have to try something else.  
  
"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," she spat.  
  
"Bad luck, Prongs," said Black, turning back to Snape. The Impediment Jinx had worn off and Snape was inching towards his wand, of which Potter must have deprived him earlier. "OI!" Sirius yelled.  
  
It was too late, though; Snape had directed his wand straight at James. There was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of Potter's face, spattering his robes with blood. Potter whirled about: a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants.  
  
Many students cheered, while Potter and Black roared with laughter.  
  
Lily was still furious, but she was close to laughing herself. She controlled herself and channeled her feelings back to fury again. "Let him down!"  
  
"Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upwards; Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Black said, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Snape keeled over again, rigid as a board.  
  
When would they get the message? Did these idiots have no end to their capabilities of torment?  
  
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now.  
  
Potter, eyeing her wand warily, said, "Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you."  
  
"Take the curse off him, then!"  
  
James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the counter- curse.  
  
"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –"  
  
"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"  
  
Lily blinked. How much good did a person have to do to get some appreciation? It was bad enough that stupid Snape had called her a Mudblood.  
  
"Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother you in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."  
  
"Apologise to Evans!" Potter roared at Snape, pointing his want at him threateningly.  
  
"I don't want YOU to make him apologise," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is!"  
  
"What?" he yelped. "I'd NEVER call you a – you-know-what!"  
  
It was time to vent. Again. Just that this time, it was in front of more people.  
  
"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."  
  
She turned on her heel and stormed back to the castle.  
  
"Evans!" James shouted after her. "Hey, EVANS!"  
  
She didn't look back. She'd had enough of Potter today to last a lifetime. She had been very truthful in her rampage about him – he made her sick.  


* * *

**A/N: So that's Chapter 2! Lots longer than Chap. 1 and the Prologue, but yeah. I know I did alotta word-for-wording... it's pretty funny actually, craning my neck to see the book and typing at the same time. Well anyways, please review! It encourages me to keep writing =) Thanks to all my reviewers so far! You guys rock! =) (by the way, J.E.A.R. Potter, I replied to your question in the reviews, just incase you didn't know...)  
**  
[This chapter has been edited... for the good of all readers.] 


	4. Hogsmeade Havoc

**Hate Everything About You **

**Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realizes that this isn't true?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Hogsmeade Havoc

Lily stormed up to her dormitory and, calming down a bit, lay down on her bed. She folded her arms behind her head and stared up at the ceiling, thinking.

'-just a black-hearted, stupid, self-centered, arrogant, pompous, lazy, know-it-all, bullying, show-off, annoying, cowardly GIT!' Lily clenched her fists in rage and sat up.

She heard footsteps from the stairway outside the door – probably a sixth or seventh year.

Rearranging her pillows, Lily allowed herself to sit back comfortably while she thought. Suddenly, she let out a shriek of rage, and the door opened.

Mandy, who was standing in the doorway, raised her eyebrows. "What's the matter?" She walked in, followed by Alice.

"I-" Lily began. They wouldn't understand, though. Why tell them?

"What's the matter, Lily?" Alice repeated quietly.

Lily suddenly realized how apprehensive the two of them looked. 'I must look furious, for them to be so scared,' she thought. She took a deep breath and changed her expression to one slightly more neutral. She sighed. "I ran out of adjectives that describe Potter."

She could tell how close her friends were to laughing in relief. They'd evidently thought it was something bad.

But this _was _bad! She'd said (well, thought) so many insulting words about Potter, even some swear words (which Lily wasn't found to be saying very often), and even if they'd all been strung together into one, long, super-mean-not-nice-insulting-word, they'd be an understatement to what she felt right now towards James Potter.

"Well, which ones have you got so far?" Mandy said, with a bit of a smirk on her face.

"So far, I've thought of black-hearted, stupid, self-centered..." Lily began.

Mandy started writing all of the words describing Potter that Lily had thought of so far. Once that was done, the three of them racked their brains for other words that they could add to the list. This calmed Lily down quite a bit, and she felt almost as content as she had earlier that afternoon, before the whole Snape fiasco had started.

Just as the girls, giggling, wrote down their newest insult ('pile of owl droppings'), Amber burst into the dormitory.

"What is the bloody matter with you guys?" she shrieked.

"What? Did we do anything wrong?" Alice asked innocently.

"I've been waiting for 45 minutes for you to come down to the Great Hall, but you never showed up! What have you been doing here all this time?"

"Great Hall? For what?" Lily asked.

"DINNER!" Amber half-screamed.

The girls all glanced at their wristwatches and identical expressions of surprise appeared on their faces.

"Wow, time flies when you're having fun," Mandy giggled.

"Yes, great fun!" Alice agreed, grinning.

Noticing Amber's confused expression, the girls explained what they'd been doing for the past few hours, and then walked down to dinner.

Lily purposely doubled her efforts of avoiding James. It seemed that he wasn't that keen to talk to her, either.

Just as the girls got up after finishing their dinner, Lily's assumptions were proven wrong. Potter stalked up to them casually, a silly grin on his face. 'Is he trying to be charming, or seductive, or something? Because it's _really_ not working,' Lily thought.

"Hey, Evans, about this afternoon..." he began. He gazed at her for a bit, as if to make sure he had Lily's attention, before continuing. "Since you were maybe a little angry at the time-" Lily scoffed; typical Potter didn't even notice, but kept talking, "and since you were caught up in the, er... heat of the moment... you weren't able to give me a correct answer."

"What are you talking about, Potter?" Lily said, narrowing her eyes.

"Here. I'll start over. Will you accompany me to Hogsmeade on Saturday?"

Lily laughed. "Are you asking me out, Potter?"

"Well – yes."

"No."

"No, I'm not asking you out? What am I doing, then?"

"I mean, no I won't go out with you."

James rolled his eyes, as if fed up with a small child who just wouldn't understand something simple he'd repeated to them many times.

Lily rolled her eyes as well, but in her usual 'why-don't-you-just-give-up-Potter' way. She walked past him and towards the doors of the Great Hall, followed closely by Mandy, Alice, and Amber. It looked as though they would have to take out that insult list for the second time that day.

So much for studying for their OWLs.

* * *

Lily was in Honeydukes two days later, indulging in the sweets. Sugar quills, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Cockroach Clusters, and even Chocolate Frogs; she eyed them longingly, knowing that the money she spent should be towards a better cause. After all, her parents weren't exceedingly wealthy – she didn't have piles of Galleons rotting in a bank account, waiting to be spent. It was already hard enough to find somewhere to exchange a bit of Muggle money for some of the wizarding currency.

Surprisingly, Honeydukes was nearly empty. Maybe it was lunchtime? Lily checked her watch. 11:30 am. 'Close enough to lunch time, I guess.'

Mrs. Charleston, the saleslady at Honeydukes, walked up to Lily. "Need any help, dear?" she asked warmly.

"Oh – no, no thank you."

"Where are your friends?" she asked. Mrs. Charleston knew Lily and her friends well; they'd been regular shoppers at Honeydukes ever since their first visit in third year.

Lily's voice contained a trace of disappointment. "Well... Mandy stayed at the castle for a meeting for Quidditch. They've already finished the season and Gryffindor got the Quidditch Cup, so I don't know what the fuss is about. And Alice and Amber are on – I mean, they're with some other friends," Lily explained. She'd been about to say 'on dates', but she didn't know if it was safe to talk about these things to even kind, old Mrs. Charleston.

Lily had never been to Hogsmeade alone. Ever. She didn't know where her other friends were, either. It seemed as though everyone had disappeared. Was it really a Hogsmeade weekend? What if it was actually Friday? Or... what if there was an emergency OWL that all of the fifth years had to take in addition to their regular ones, and she somehow hadn't heard? She started bringing up memories of her Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration notes, then realized how awkward the moment was. She was standing there, wordlessly, in front of Mrs. Charleston, who was looking expectantly at her.

"Yes?" Lily said, as if she'd had her name called.

"I was asking you if you were planning on purchasing anything," Mrs. Charleston said, but with all her regular amounts of kindness.

"Oh, sorry, but I won't be. Just here to indulge, as usual," she smiled. Lily did buy candy from here a lot, but most of the time she and her friends came here just to be fascinated endlessly by the amounts of sweets they sold. They never really added anything new to their colossal collection of candy, but even the same old stuff made their mouths water.

"Alright, then. In that case, I'll be back in the storage room. Give a shout if you need me, though," Mrs. Charleston said and walked away.

* * *

James, crouching near the door of Honeydukes under his invisibility cloak, let out a small, inaudible sigh of relief. He'd thought that lady would never leave. Carefully, he pulled off his invisibility cloak, concealed it behind a chocolate display case, and walked silently toward Lily.

* * *

Lily was admiring some Fizzing Whizbees, eyeing them hungrily, when a pair of warm hands covered her eyes. Probably Mandy; she did this all of the time. Maybe she'd been let out from the Quidditch meeting early? Lily knew what was coming next: a 'guess who?' of some sort.

She was right, but the 'guess who?' hadn't come from Mandy. Unless, of course, her voice had become much more deep. No, Lily knew this voice, and it wasn't Mandy's.

Lily whipped around, making James' hands fall from her face.

"Potter."

"Evans," Potter said, as if to mock Lily.

"Aren't you supposed to be at a Quidditch meeting? Where are your dip stick friends? Or your even-more-dip-stick admirers?"

"I left early... it got boring. My friends think I'm still there, though, and same with my wonderful fan club," he flashed a wink at Lily. "Anyway, I came here just to talk to you. You know, a friendly chat, maybe a Butterbeer or two. Or better yet, snogging."

"Just go away. Can't you get the message? I don't want to –"

Potter had put his hands on Lily's shoulders, which made her stop. 'Oh, boy,' she thought.

"You're all alone here, Lil- Evans. What do you want right now?" he asked softly.

Lily hesitated. He couldn't possibly know how alone she felt at the moment. Sure, it was just Hogsmeade, and she'd been apart from her friends before. But the whole place seemed so... empty. She'd hoped that the days after the exams would be joyful ones. But really, they were boring. Even though it was only Saturday.

Lily looked down at her shoes. "I– er-"

James cupped her chin in his hand, and lifted her face so that he could look her in the eye. "I know what you want. Let me show you."

Suddenly, he put his arm around her waist, drawing her closer. His free hand caressed Lily's cheek.

Lily's mind was racing. This WAS NOT RIGHT. What was happening?

He moved in closer, tilting his head a bit. His eyes were closed now. His lips were puckering.

A sudden realization came to Lily. Her body realized it before her mind did, and she did exactly what her reflexes told her to do: slap Potter hard across the face.

James opened his eyes and stood up straight. The slap didn't seem to have hurt him, but at least it had stopped him from doing what Lily had been dreading he would do.

He grinned, and touched the red mark on his face, wincing. Maybe it did hurt, after all.

"I will cherish this red mark for as long as it stays on my face... meaning, forever," he said a bit dramatically, still grinning.

Lily was furious. Not only was he being his normal arrogant self, but he had almost KISSED her! What if he had? What if someone had seen? Lily looked around wildly, but nobody seemed to be in the store. Even Mrs. Charleston was nowhere in sight.

She stared at Potter. "I have the strongest urge to kick you in one of the more sensitive parts of your body, but I think I'll save you the pain and just kick you out of this shop, instead."

Potter smirked. "You don't own the place. I can stay here if I want to."

"FINE THEN!" Lily shouted. "I'll just go out myself!" She stalked towards the door.

"Wouldn't go out of the shop if I were you."

Lily was absolutely loathing James at the moment. Why did he always have to be so stupidly calm? It drove her mad.

She whipped around. "Why not, may I ask?" she asked coldly.

"Something's going on outside."

'Stop being so vague, would you? Just get to the POINT!' Lily thought. She glanced out the window at the front of the shop, but couldn't see anything because it was all covered up in advertisements and other posters.

"I don't see anything."

"Really, now?" Potter said sarcastically. Dropping the sarcasm from his voice, he continued. "There's a bit of a... crowd... out there."

"Crowd? Why?" He was still driving her mad with his vagueness and whatnot, but Lily was interested.

"Well, er, I think that maybe... Snivellus has got himself a bit of a – a fan club." James said, looking as though he was unsure of Lily's next reaction. Evidently he was trying very hard not to break the peace that had suddenly grown between them.

Lily scoffed. "Are you trying to say that Snape's found some friends?"

Potter shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Erm... not exactly 'friends'. No, I, uh, don't think that's the right word."

Lily was getting a bit annoyed, but as long as Potter wasn't being a pompous jerk, she'd try and keep the peace as well. "Can you please just spit it out? I don't have all day." Not the best way to keep the peace, but better than outright yelling.

"Fine. Near the Shrieking Shack, there's a – a... crowd. Of people. Students, more like. Fifth and sixth years probably. And they're uh... they're... harassing him."

"Who, Snape?"

"Yeah," Potter said softly, as though ashamed.

Lily gazed at him, trying to find any traces of a lie. None. He was telling the truth.

"Are you telling me that there's a gang of kids putting hexes on Snape like you were the other day? And – and calling him names?"

"Yup."

She was getting more frantic by the second. "So that's why the whole place is empty? Because everyone's outside, busy watching Snape get bullied and hexed, and not even TRYING to stop the madness?"

"Yes." Lily noticed that Potter was looking down at his feet.

Then came the fireworks. "You see? What did I tell you? You're a BULLYING TOERAG! And now everyone in the school is following YOUR – BLOODY – EXAMPLE! How do you think Snape feels about this? First he gets humiliated in front of lots of people because of you and your stupid friend Black, and NOW he gets humiliated in front of even MORE people, and is getting hexed by MORE PEOPLE, and it's STILL all because of YOU!"

Any previous trace of James' shame had gone. The red mark seemed to have gone too, but only because it'd blended with the redness growing steadily in his face. He was yelling, just the same.

"REALLY NOW? Well I suppose YOU, Little Miss Perfect, are ALWAYS right! It's ALWAYS my fault, isn't it? It COULDN'T be the fact that Snape is a complete TOAD, or that all of the other students are just as complete BABOONS for thinking that hexing him for no reason is funny!"

"Excuse me, POTTER, but wasn't it YOU who thought that hexing Snape for no reason was FUNNY?"

"WHO SAYS I DIDN'T HEX HIM FOR A REASON?"

"Then WHY did you HEX HIM?"

"SAME REASON AS WHY YOU WON'T GO OUT WITH ME!"

Lily was confused. She wasn't yelling anymore. "What?"

Potter seemed to have calmed down a bit, too. He was breathing heavily, though, and was still a bit red in the face. "You'd – rather – go – out – with – Snape – than – me!"

Never mind about the calming down. Lily was back to yelling again.

"SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU HEXED HIM BECAUSE I SAID I'D RATHER GO OUT WITH HIM THAN WITH YOU? Didn't you realize I could have been LYING? To get my POINT ACROSS? Well I suppose tomorrow you'll be tearing the GIANT SQUID apart, as well!"

"I DIDN'T TEAR SNIVELLUS APART!" There was a pause.

Lily stamped her foot. She was feeling awfully like a two-year-old.

* * *

"I DIDN'T TEAR SNIVELLUS APART!"

James was ferociously angry at Lily's wild accusations, but a small – no, large – part of him was happy that Lily had really been lying about the Snape thing. And she did look quite – no, extremely – pretty when she was mad – no, furious.

Lily stamped her foot, and whirled around. She walked to the front, opened the door, and was about to leave when James decided he couldn't contain himself anymore. He just had to say it.

"You would have made a lot less fuss if you'd just LET me kiss you."

Lily balled her fists, shrieked in rage, and walked out of the door and into the street. James thought he heard something along the lines of a faint 'STOP THIS INSTANT!' coming from outside.

All of a sudden, Mrs. Charleston appeared out of nowhere.

"Why, hello m'dear. Where's Lily gone?" she smiled.

What was wrong with this woman? Hadn't she heard anything from before?

"She's – er – she's gone to get a Butterbeer with some friends."

"Oh, alright. Well, if you see her, tell her I hope she'll have a good summer for me, won't you?"

This lady was even worse at detecting lies than she was at hearing the canons go off between Lily and James.

"Sure. I... I think I'll go and, uh, join her, then. See you next year."

"Of course, m'dear," she called after him as he left Honeydukes.

* * *

"STOP THIS INSTANT!" Lily yelled as loud as she could, running down the path toward the Shrieking Shack. She fumbled in her pocket and took out her wand before stopping a few feet in front of the group of students.

Several heads turned. Several didn't.

"Stop what?" spat an obnoxious third year.

Lily, though really answering the kid's question, yelled as if to address the whole group, "STOP HEXING SNAPE!"

This time, more heads turned. Many of the onlookers carefully stepped away to show that they didn't have anything to do with it. With the crowd dispersed, Lily managed to see Snape in the centre, dangling upside-down the way he had two days ago. She also saw the people who were the cause of it all. One of them was her ex-freind Larissa, a snobby Ravenclaw fifth-year who was the leader of the silent anti-Lily rebellions. All they really did was throw her dirty looks in the halls for being so 'cruel' to Potter, so the current situation was a surprise to Lily.

"Montgomery. What on earth are you and your little posse doing tormenting Snape?" Lily tried to remain as calm as she possibly could.

Larissa glared at Lily, and spoke with an equally forced calm in her voice.

"Finishing what James started," she spat, though her voice was momentarily softer as she said Potter's name.

"What?" Lily scoffed. Predictable, yes, but still a bit surprising.

"He never got around to taking Snape's underpants off, did he?"

"I wouldn't know."

"You probably don't know why he's so mad at Snape in the first place, either, do you?"

Lily thought she knew, considering her recent 'conversation' with Potter, but she wanted to know if Larissa was thinking the same thing she was.

"No, I don't," Lily said blankly.

Larissa's eyes seemed to fill with tears. "He was so sad that you prefer Snape over him that he couldn't bear it, the poor chap! He had to vent his anger, and who better to be his venting victim than Snape himself?" Suddenly, her voice went from soft, to cold again. "I'm warning you, Evans. You'd better just say yes and get that week over with so that the people who REALLY care about James can have a well-deserved second chance."

Lily ignored what Larissa had just said and asked, "So why are you still bothering Snape when I already told Potter I'd been lying?"

Larissa looked slightly put out. Her excuse wasn't valid anymore.

"Nobody here likes him anyway," she said, as though trying her hardest to think of a reason now that Lily preferred Potter over Snape.

Lily preferred Potter over Snape? No, she didn't. No way. She'd only just remembered her words to Potter. She speculated. 'Oh yeah, I do prefer Potter over Snape. Only because he wouldn't call me a Mudblood 24/7.'

She remembered the scene in front of her. Most of the crowd was gone. Larissa and her friends remained, along with some others.

"Leave Snape alone, Larissa."

"Why should I?"

Lily pulled out her shiny Prefect badge, and was about to explain that Prefects still had power in Hogsmeade, when someone appeared behind her.

"Because Lily said so," Potter huffed.

"Oh – okay. Whatever you say, James," Larissa said, her voice soft. She didn't put Snape down, though, because she was drawn to Lily and James' bickering.

"I don't need you to help me, Potter!" Lily spat.

"Well, clearly, they weren't listening to you."

She shoved her Prefect badge into Potter's face instead.

"Well, I was going to show them this, but then you turned up."

Surprisingly, they were speaking very calmly.

"I had to stop it... they shouldn't have been tormenting Snape."

If he was trying to portray himself as a nice guy, it wasn't working. Lily could see right through him that he was trying to impress her with his 'care for his enemies'.

Lily looked over at Snape, who was still dangling upside-down.

"Put him down, Montgomery."

Larissa seemed very reluctant to come out of the entrancing stare she was giving Potter. "Fine."

With a flick of her wand, Snape was crumpled on the ground. He'd heard the whole conversation, Lily was sure, because he was smirking at Potter.

"Heard the Mudblood would rather go out with me than with you, Potter," he sneered.

"She was lying."

'Stupid comeback,' Lily thought. She turned on her heel to leave, but James caught her arm.

"You were, weren't you?" He looked at her with pleading eyes.

Lily looked from Potter to Snape, from Snape to Potter.

"Of course I was. Being called a Mudblood gets really boring after awhile," she said, hoping to be as monotone as possible. Just because she'd sooner go out with Potter than with Snape didn't mean she liked Potter. She still hated him.

Potter turned back to Snape, looking pleased with himself. "See?" He looked at Lily, and held is arm out to her. "Shall we go to the Three Broomsticks to get some Butterbeers?"

Lily refused the arm, but walked to the Three Broomsticks anyway. She knew that Amber was there with Sirius. Probably Alice and her date, Frank Longbottom, a Gryffindor seventh-year, were there as well. She hoped she wouldn't be too rude, interrupting her friends' dates.

Lily walked in and saw Amber immediately. She was chatting with Sirius, and things actually seemed to be going pretty well. The second-to-best condition for a date to be in before she interrupted it. The best one was having a bored atmosphere, Lily had learnt.

"Hey, guys!" Lily said, trying to sound as cheerful as the two of them looked.

Amber looked up. "Oh, Lily! Hi!" She was happy to see Lily, but evidently a bit put out that she didn't have Sirius to herself anymore.

"Evans," Sirius nodded. Lily smirked.

"So, uh... what are you doing here, Lil?" Amber said politely.

Lily frowned. "Trying to get away from Potter, Snape, Montgomery, and practically everyone else who I'm not on friendly terms with."

Black, who had been sipping his Butterbeer absent-mindedly, looked up, interested. "Why Potter, Snape, and Montgomery?"

Lily sighed. Might as well start from the beginning. But as long as Sirius was here, she'd leave out the part about the kiss.

* * *

James followed Lily toward the Three Broomsticks, but then thought the better of it. His invisibility cloak was still in Honeydukes. He wanted to be alone, anyway, and think through the recent events. He was feeling both put out (by Lily) and happy (Lily liked him more than she liked Snape!). He was also feeling annoyed, angry, and disgusted toward Larissa. She was extremely good-looking, that much was true. But James' experience with her had told him a lot about her. She only cared about herself. An honest part of James (which was very small) confessed that even HE wasn't quite that bad. And plus, she was a horrible kisser.

He went into Honeydukes, snatched his invisibility cloak from behind the chocolate display case when he was sure no one was looking, and threw it over his head. He tiptoed to the storage room at the back of the shop. Going through the secret passage from Honeydukes to Hogwarts would be comforting. It was quiet, peaceful, cool, and most importantly, void of other people.

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**A/N: So... that's chapter three! ) sooo sry it took me so long to update! School is evil. We can all agree on that, rite? P anyway... i think my ending is exceedingly crappy, but I'll manage!**

**Angelgurl161:** thx for the advice! yea, lol my friends said that too but i was laughing at them. I guess you're right though, it sounded bad when i reread it.

**Barf and Pammi:** fankoos for being my faithful editors!

**Feifs and Jenn:** hope you likes!

**K, well I'll update as soon as I can! (for now... wish me luck with my h/w! Grumble.)**

((This chapter has been edited… for the good of all readers.))


	5. Another Year Finished

**Hate Everything About You**

**Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.**

**A/N: lol, did you notice that I'm copying and pasting the summary and disclaimer every time? Dunno why people suffer so much from writing disclaimers, since you really only have to write one.

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Chapter Four – Another Year Finished

The ride on the Hogwarts Express seemed to take a grand total of five minutes. Lily, Alice, Mandy, and Amber were having a great time just talking, laughing, and occasionally playing Exploding Snap and even wizard's chess. It was a near miracle that the only time Lily had to lay eyes on any of the Marauders was during the Prefect meeting, where she saw Remus.

Lily didn't know why Remus was James and Sirius' friend. He was practically the opposite of a Marauder. He was quiet, kind, friendly, and intelligent, but not arrogantly so. He wasn't like Peter, either. Peter was a bit of a freak who didn't seem to fit in. Lily was sure he was just a pity-friend. And while Remus wasn't "handsome" like the other two were considered to be, he was very cute and charming.

Lily had noticed that over the past few months, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, she might fancy him a little bit. '"Remus and Lily" does have a bit of a ring to it, doesn't it?' Lily had thought to herself. But what would happen even if he liked her back? Surely a relationship with him would infuriate Potter, and since the two were friends (even if Potter did get over it) she'd be seeing a lot more of James than she would like. She'd probably go mad.

The train came to a stop as it reached King's Cross. Lily and her friends followed the crowd, clambering out to meet their parents. Well, not Lily or Mandy's parents; they would be on the other side of the barrier.

Alice waved frantically as she saw her dad. "See you guys in September!" she yelled over her shoulder as she ran to meet him.

Soon after, Amber saw her parents and went to meet them as well, leaving Lily and Mandy ploughing through the crowd together.

"My trunk weighs more than I do!" Mandy groaned as they dragged their trunks across the platform.

"Maybe we should find some trolleys to put our luggage on," Lily suggested.

The girls headed toward the trolleys, and saw that there were only two left.

"Perfect," Mandy said, dropping her luggage onto one of them.

Lily was about to do the same, when her trolley was whisked away. Her trunk landed on the ground with a loud thump, narrowly missing her toes.

"What on-" she began, then saw where her trolley had gone.

"Not funny, Potter." He'd used a stupid summoning spell again. Lily's empty trolley stood right beside James' full one.

He grinned. "I certainly think it is, Evans."

'Where are his parents anyway? They probably disowned him or something, on account of his constant cockiness and disregard for everyone and everything except himself,' Lily thought, glaring at Potter.

"Well, it's not, so give it back," Mandy spoke. Lily turned to her and grinned, so that Potter couldn't see.

"I just wanted to ask you something, you don't have to get so uptight!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course, and every question has to start with the stealing of the last available trolley, doesn't it?"

She knew what was coming, anyway. Lily decided not to wait for the question and turned around. "Here, Mandy... could I put my trunk on your trolley? I can take it off once we cross the barrier, I just don't want to have to lug it all the way."

"Oh, sure." They put Lily's trunk beside Mandy's luggage and headed off, away from Potter, toward the barrier.

They walked briskly and silently for awhile, thinking about the summer, and, on Lily's part, trying to stop herself from exploding with anger at this trivial incident. She wouldn't let Potter get to her. He was just a piece of scum, that was all.

Eventually they slowed down a bit – the crowd was still substantial and they weren't exactly keen on demolishing anyone who stood in their path.

Suddenly, Lily felt a breath against her ear as she walked. She didn't realise who was whispering until she started making out the words. "...ditch me like that. You didn't even let me ask my question."

She stopped abruptly, seeing that Potter had been walking alongside her, whispering into her ear.

James seemed to have noticed her stopping, although Mandy kept walking. He stopped as well and went over to face Lily.

"Fine. What do you want?" she said exasperatedly.

He grinned cockily. "I knew you'd warm up to me."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"So, anyway, I figured maybe, during the summer, we could-"

"No."

Potter's eyes widened in disbelief. "No? No to what? I haven't even asked my question!"

"Well I know what you were going to ask me anyway," Lily said, annoyed.

He grinned again. "Starting to read my mind, are you? We must have some kind of special bond or something. Don't you think that would mean we were meant to go out together?"

Lily started fuming. "Has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, I can predict what you're going to say because you're so unbelievably – predictable? Anyone with half a brain would be able to figure it out! Though it seems YOU don't even have a quarter of one! Ugh!" She turned to leave, but James said something just before she got out of earshot.

"Well – well maybe if you could, er... consider it over the summer... that'd be great," he said, almost disappointedly.

Lily was confused. Potter was never disappointed. He thought the world revolved around him and was always being a pompous jerk – even if he seemed disappointed, he was probably acting. So what had he said again? What had he meant?

By the time Lily had said the words over to herself enough to understand them, she'd caught up to Mandy, who was still battling her way through the crowd with the overloaded trolley.

"Where'd you go?" Mandy asked once she saw Lily beside her.

"Oh, uh... Potter. He was asking me out again." She said it with a bit less disgust in her voice than she normally would, and this seemed to unsettle Mandy.

"Is something wrong? Oh, did he try to kiss you again? Did he actually manage to this time?" Lily had told her friends about the Hogsmeade episode, but by now she was wishing she hadn't.

"Of course not! He was just being – well, a little less despicable than he usually is. I don't know... he's confusing."

"Umm... okay." Mandy stopped in front of the barrier that would lead them back into the Muggle part of King's Cross. Lily could tell she was confused, but she could also tell she wasn't willing to push Lily if she was being as vague as this.

"Shall we go through?" Lily suggested.

"Sure."

The two girls went through the barrier at a brisk walk and appeared at the other side. They looked around to make sure nobody had seen them.

"Looks like we got through unnoticed. Do you see your parents?" Lily asked.

"No, but I see yours." Mandy pointed over to Platform 10.

"Alright, well I guess I'd better go over to them. Have a good summer!"

"Yep, I'll see you in September!"

"Don't forget to call me, okay?" Lily gave Mandy a quick hug before grabbing her trunk and setting off toward her parents.

"Mom! Dad!" she called.

"Oh, Lily!" Mrs. Evans said upon seeing her daughter. "Did you have a good year? We've missed you so much!" She enveloped Lily in a hug.

"Mum, it's only been six months," Lily said, gasping for breath.

Mrs. Evans seemed to notice how close she was to choking Lily to death and released her, only to be taken into another embrace.

"We missed you. It's never the same at home without you," her dad said in his strong Irish accent.

Lily laughed, pulling away from her father. "Well, there's always Petunia," she said automatically, but regretted it soon after.

Lily's older sister, Petunia, was 21 now and had found a boyfriend. Not just any old boyfriend – a fiancé. A boring-stale-violent-chunk-of-flab-which-tended-to-turn-purple-when-provoked kind of fiancé named Vernon Dursley. Really, when you thought about it, he was perfect for Petunia. He was boring, she was boring. He always liked order and normality, as did she. They didn't have conflicting personalities, and neither liked conflict. They just wanted everything to be perfect. Not the real kind of perfect. They were just fine with the falsetto stuff. The clichés, the stereotypes, the stick-to-your-schedule, without anything out of place or unusual. That was what they thought perfect, and that was how they liked it. Lily was sure they would live that way someday, probably with an idiot son just as stupid as them. She scolded herself for being so cruel about her sister, even though it'd been her that had just left her parents to go live with a deranged purple boyfriend.

"So...uh, do you need some help with your trunk, Lil?" her father asked awkwardly.

"Oh, yes please. This thing weighs a ton!" Lily exclaimed, handing her luggage over to her dad.

"Alright, let's get to the car then," Mrs. Evans smiled.

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"Well – well maybe if you could, er... consider it over the summer... that'd be great," James said, disappointed. He hoped it wouldn't show. Why was he so much more hurt this time compared to any other time Lily refused him? 

Lily walked away quickly to catch up to Mandy. Had she even heard him?

"James, where were you?" Mrs. Potter asked, walking up to him. "We were walking toward the barrier and all of a sudden you disappeared!"

"Oh, uh, sorry Mum. I was just saying goodbye to a friend of mine," James said, tearing his eyes away from Lily's retreating form.

"Well, come on, let's get through. Your father went to wait in the car while I looked for you, he'll start to get worried if we delay anymore."

"Fine, Mum," James sighed.

"Now James, don't be difficult. Which reminds me, we're going to have to talk once we get home. How on earth did you and Sirius manage to get an average of two detentions a week without reaching the point of getting expelled? Some miracle, if you ask me," she chucked, as a contrast to her formerly-serious tone.

James, though annoyed at his mother's lecture, couldn't help but smile. "We're just Miracle Men, I guess. We can make whatever we want come true!" '...except getting Lily to like you,' added a voice in his head.

"Alright, well let's go. We'll save the lectures for when we get home," Mrs. Potter said, and started to walk towards the barrier.

James followed with his full trolley in tow, his depression beginning to creep up on him. 'Gosh, Lily, when are you ever going to like me?'

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Once they got home, Lily did a lap around the house, got inside, and ran right into her bedroom. With all her pent-up energy, she couldn't help but do some exercise. 

Lily plopped onto her bed, panting happily, and looked around her room. Same as usual. It was cosy, with walls painted a light shade of green. Her record player immediately caught her eye.

She put in a record, one of her old favourites, and sighed as the first song started up. This was one of the things she found herself craving during the school year, as well as watching television and playing a good old game a football. The wizarding world was great, and it was home, but there were some Muggle things Lily just couldn't do without.

Lily's favourite song began to play and what began as some light foot-tapping quickly turned into an all-out energetic dance.

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**A/N: Yay, another chapter done. I don't think it's that great cause I barely edited due to a crunch in time.**

**Omigosh it took me sooo long to post, I nearly killed myself for it. (Okay, maybe i didnt.) Well anyway that was due to an overload of homework and procrastination!**

**Ok, now to thank my reviewers!**

**oAngel85o – **Gasp! Absolutely love? yay! Yessssss homework SUCKS! I complain about it so much it's almost funny! grrrr, homework.

**Dude Wheres My Cheese – **well, yeah. she kinda has to be strong... she sacrifices herself for Harry, right? I think that counts as being strong and all. But yeah, she only goes out with James in seventh year so I have to make her hold out till then!

**Fallen-Snow a.k.a. Feifs - **Omygosh! Cuteness of the : face! (btw I was right that I'd update this weekend! I didn't think I'd b able to what with speeches.)

**FrEgOrGeLuVeR225 **– glad you like it: 

**Realmer06 **– thank you for your self-esteem-building review:D yeah, you can tell I'm not very ehhh... confident.

**Angelgurl161 **– Your welcome. :D Of course I review your fics, you're one of my fave authors!

**Yay! Ok so I only answered the reviews for chap four so people like Lily who reviewed for earlier chaps (a real lily... my friend from school :P) don't b sad that I didnt thank you. 'cause i'm thanking you now!**

**And of course my infinite thankyous to Pam and Barf/Barn/Barfabas/whatever u wanna call him for being great editors and great friends! (ok so that means thanks to all my friends in general. Specially Jenn for just... being there! Where would I be without friends?)**

**Okay and now that you're all fed up with my sappy lovingness of all the people around me... wish me luck with my h/w! Cause last time I didn't get enough wishingness and that's why it took me so long to update ;)

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**

((This chapter has been edited. **Please note** that some time-period-related errors have been removed, and please don't point these errors out to me anymore because… well, they're gone now! Thanks.))


	6. Summer Part I

Hate Everything About You 

Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.

Chapter Five: Summer Part I

"Lily, it's dinner time!" Mrs. Evans called.

Lily looked at her watch. 8:00 PM. Shocked, she said to herself, "Wow, I've been listening to music for a long time and _still_ haven't gone through all of my records! Scary."

She bounded down the stairs to the kitchen after stopping the record player. At the table, Lily's parents were waiting patiently. They positively beamed when they saw Lily coming down, with a hint of relief in their expressions. 'What, were they scared I wouldn't come down or something?' Lily thought. She quickly realised that of course they would be, since they'd practically lost one of their daughters already.

"Sit down, Lil," her dad said, waving towards the chair beside him.

Once Lily was comfortably seated, they started eating and talking. Talking about everything – mostly Lily's school life and her friends. She carefully avoided a certain topic she wasn't keen on discussing, but all her attempts were in vain.

"So, what about that boy who gives you a hard time? Jason Potter?" Mum said. 'Why does she just HAPPEN to be psychic, but in the wrong way?' Lily asked herself, groaning inwardly.

"Er – it's James. James Potter," Lily corrected. It sounded so weird – even unnatural – to say his first name. "What do you mean what about him?"

"Is he still giving you a hard time?"

"Oh," said Lily, relieved. She'd been dreading she might ask something more specific. "Of course he is. Immature, conceited, stupid boys like him never grow up. Ever."

"Now Lily, don't say that," her dad said, then joked, "Even I got over that stage!"

Everyone laughed. Another topic was brought up, and dinner went on. Lily was safe.

About halfway through dessert, Mrs. Evans sighed.

"What's the matter, Mum?" Lily asked.

She looked up at Lily apologetically. "I know how much this will bother you, but tomorrow Petty's coming over for tea. Then she and I are going to be planning the wedding for awhile."

'Oh no, Petunia coming for tea? Great...' Lily forced a smile. "It's fine, Mum, I don't mind," she said, then continued earnestly, "At least Dursley won't be here." She puffed out her cheeks and stretched out her arms in imitation of his, well... weight problem.

Her dad couldn't help but let out a laugh, despite his efforts to conceal it, and her mum had a smile playing on her lips before continuing seriously, "Now Lily, we can't poke fun at other people's sizes, even if it's Vernon we're talking about. He IS going to be here, though, Lily. Come on, dear, don't put on a face. We've already told you that we don't like him that much either, but as long as Petty's happy..."

"Oh, whatever, he can come. I don't mind. We've told him I'm a witch, but he still doesn't know I can't use magic over the summer." Lily grinned, imagining him running (more like waddling) away, scared that she'd turn him into a toad. She still wasn't thrilled about him visiting, but she wouldn't let her parents know that.

"Alright, well, if you're sure..." Mr. Evans said uncertainly. "I mean, you could always go to the cinema for a bit. Maybe we could go together, seeing as I'm not needed in the planning of the wedding!"

Mrs. Evans gave him a disapproving look. "Now Daniel, you know that you'll have to be here. Vernon will have nobody to discuss cars and business with; don't you think he'd feel lonely?"

Mr. Evans gave a small, defeated smile to Lily. "Oh, codswallop, I thought I might be able to get away with it!" he joked.

The next day, Lily was in her room, talking on the phone to Mandy.

"... and if he says you're a freak, you can tell him a bunch of ways that being a witch is a good thing!" Mandy was saying to comfort Lily, who'd been brooding about Petunia and Vernon's arrival in fifteen minutes. "Don't forget to mention that you're capable of magicking some muscle into him!"

"Or some fat cells out," Lily joked. "But still, it won't work Mandy. Once they start thinking I'm a freak, they won't stop. Just like how I can't possibly NOT hate James. Except at least I hate him for a reason."

"Lily, you can't let them get to you, okay? You're strong, and the smartest witch I know! If they're too dumb to accept that, whose problem is that? Not yours." Mandy had known Lily and her family problems long enough to not even care that she was calling them dumb – Lily had already told her not to bother with forced politeness.

"They don't bother me THAT much, just it drives Mum and Dad crazy. It gets annoying after awhile, too."

"Are you sure Lily? 'Cause you probably wouldn't be making such a big deal out of it if it was just that..."

"Alright, fine, they do bother me. It's just kind of frustrating, knowing that I'm discriminated against in both worlds, that I'll still be shunned no matter where I am. Muggles think I'm a freak for being what I am, wizards think I'm a no-good piece of scum for being what I am. It's a lose-lose situation."

"What?" Mandy said with disbelief. "Now Snape and his name-calling is getting to you too? Why did you tell me before that you didn't care about what he said? Lils, I thought we were best friends – we never keep anything from each other, much less tell each other lies," Mandy concluded, the hurt evident in her voice.

Lily sighed. "Mandy, it's not you! It's me, I guess. I'm too busy trying to be strong and to hide my emotions when something bothers me to pay attention to how I really feel."

"Oh, so I suppose there's something else you've lied to me about? Are you still mad that I accidentally killed your pet toad? You KNOW that was an accident, and that was second year!"

"Mandy, don't go frantic! Of course I'm not mad at you for Warts! He was kind of stupid anyway. And – and a little slimy, in his own cute way. Come to think of it, he was pretty cute overall." Lily made her voice sound tearful.

"Oh, Lily! I'm soo sorry, I had no idea you still felt bad about him! I really really really didn't mean to throw him out the window! I mean – drop him! I DIDN'T THROW HIM! SERIOUSLY! He just slipped out of my hand, I swear!"

Lily was in fits of laughter. "You seriously – thought I still – cared about my – deceased pet – who I – owned three and a half years ago?" she said, between hiccoughs and giggles.

Mandy found herself laughing too. "Lily! You're so cruel, making me believe you were still sad about that whole incident! You know how guilty I can feel about these things!"

Grinning, Lily said, "Well, why else would I have said it? You're just too nice, Mandy, it drives me crazy!" Lily joked.

"Wait, you know how you said that you hide your emotions when something's bugging you to show you're strong?"

"I guess you could say that. Yeah, what about it?"

"I just had a thought that maybe..."

"What?"

"Do you fancy James Potter?"

Lily's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? Is that some kind of sick joke? I don't find the humour in it Mandy."

"No, I'm serious. Whenever he asks you out, you say no. When he talks to you or flirts with you, you're just cold towards him. Is that your way of hiding your emotions – your feelings for him – because you don't want people to think you're weak enough to fall for your enemy?"

"Mandy, listen. I do NOT like James Potter. I. Hate. Him. You're my best friend, you would know!"

"Well I'm your best friend and I didn't know that Petunia and Lard Tub were hurting you so bad! I didn't know about Snape hurting you, either."

"Look, Mandy, that's different. If Potter was affecting me at all, besides annoying me to death, it wouldn't be in a positive way. As in – I would NEVER find myself falling for him."

"So Potter _does _affect you? Does the fact that he asks you out all the time unsettle you? Does it make you feel worthless? Just another object of Potter's affection, and not worthy of having someone really love you?"

"I – I –" Lily began, speechless. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "I have to go. Petty and Lard Tub came ten minutes early. Maybe to tell me off for breathing or something. Owl me and we'll finish this discussion, because something isn't right about it. See you." Lily hung up without waiting for a reply, cursed under her breath, and slowly descended the stairs.

Tea was finally over. It had been long, boring, and full of Vernon's business ramble, which he was very enthusiastic about. He'd knocked over two cups full of tea in his fury directed towards unfair stocks (which he'd made Lily clean up, as she was stuck sitting beside him). After soaking what seemed to be two rolls of paper towel, the mess was finally clean, but the rest of the family had already proceeded into the living room, except her dad, who was cleaning up.

Lily sighed and went to join them. She hadn't really looked at the living room much, seeing as it wasn't a high-traffic area, so Lily was shocked with what she saw before her. All of the furniture had been moved away from the walls – the sofa, the TV, the china cabinet... everything. The walls had strips of tape all over the place, lining the edges, and were painted white as opposed to the previous butter yellow.

"Mum, what happened here?" Lily asked.

Mrs. Evans looked up at Lily from where she was sitting on the sofa, conversing quietly with Petunia. "Oh, your Dad and I decided to repaint the room, finally."

Comprehension dawned on Lily. That made sense! The furniture arrangement... the tape... the whitened walls. "What colour, then?"

"We decided on a deep red, to match the colour of the designs we painted on the china."

Lily grinned. "Wonderful! That's just like the colour of the Gryffindor common room at Hog... warts," she finished sadly, having noticed Petunia's piercing glare. She looked down and shuffled her feet a bit, waiting for someone to break the silence.

"So, Petty, what were you saying about the bridesmaids' dresses again?" Mrs. Evans said, as though nothing had happened. As much as Lily hated this fake ignorance, she knew it was the only way that her mum could keep Petunia under control.

Lily slowly turned around to head back to her room, but was tapped on the shoulder roughly. She turned again, and was slightly shocked to see Vernon standing there. His face was set with seriousness, and she could tell he was trying hard to keep his expression somewhat blank.

"Yes?" she half-whispered.

"Come," he said, waving toward the china cabinet. He dragged her behind it, close to the wall. When they reached their destination, he seemed to decide that concealing his expression didn't matter anymore, as he was scowling angrily.

"What do you want?" she said loudly.

"Quiet!" Vernon grabbed her arm. He looked around quickly to make sure they couldn't be seen or overheard before beginning a long lecture. "You are far too much trouble. Petunia and I have accepted you and your... abnormalities... hoping that you would NOT talk about it, EVER. You seem to take our patience for granted though, spreading word of your abnormal life, your abnormal qualities, your abnormal school. We are already uncomfortable enough, having to be in such close quarters with someone who has supernatural powers and no self-control. Will you not make it easier for us, and at least ACT normal? Or just less weird? That way, Petunia and I can rest at ease knowing that you are, mostly likely, not going to attack us in the night to turn us into toads."

Lily sputtered angrily. She didn't know where to begin. "But – but all I did was say the name of my house, and my school! What harm can that do? I didn't even say magi-"

Vernon jumped. He frantically smacked his hand over Lily's mouth to stop her from saying 'the word'. In jumping, though, Vernon's body managed to slam into the china cabinet, causing it to fall over into the middle of the room. Lily heard some very distinct smashes of porcelain.

Everyone stared at the cabinet in shock. "What just happened?" Mrs. Evans asked disbelievingly.

Vernon tuned to Lily. "YOU! Why did you push the whole cabinet over? You were furious, yes, but I think that is going a BIT TOO FAR."

Lily gaped as everyone turned to stare at her in shock. She was at a loss for words, but managed to muster a, "What? Me?"

"Lily, is this true?" her mum asked quietly.

Tears welled up in Lily's eyes. "Of course not, Mum! I know how much you love your china. I – I even helped you paint the designs onto it!"

"If it meant so much to you, why did you knock it down?" Petunia asked, in a voice that was dangerously low.

"I didn't knock it down!" Lily choked. She turned on her heel and stomped into her room, just for show. When she finally got in, she closed her door and flung herself face-first onto her bed, where she lay crying in frustration.

Ten minutes later, when Lily had calmed down a bit, her mum came in to see her. She sat down on the bed beside Lily, who was hugging her knees, staring absent-mindedly at the wall, her face still tear-stained.

Mrs. Evans put her arm around Lily's shoulder. "Honey, I know you didn't knock down my china cabinet, but that's the only story we've been able to get out of Vernon. Anyway, your dad heard the crash and came to see what happened. He checked the damage, and most of it's pretty well garbage, except one little teacup which stayed in perfect condition. It was your cup, you know. The one you painted your name onto."

Lily smiled weakly, remembering the summer after third year when they'd painted teacups until their eyes and fingers had started to hurt.

"So Lily," her mum continued, "How did it really fall?"

"Oh, it was horrible," Lily wailed, burying her face in her mother's shoulder. "He was telling me off again, for being what I am, and for accidentally mentioning Hogwarts. He said I was someone with supernatural powers and no self-control and that I was an abnormal freak who could, at any moment, sneak into their house and turn them into frogs! And then – then when I told him all I did was mention Hogwarts and at least I didn't say magic, he jumped and knocked the cabinet over and it fell!" She started crying again at the injustice of being judged and scolded for something she hadn't intended on becoming, and the injustice of being blamed for something that she hadn't done at all.

Mrs. Evans turned toward Lily to hold her in her arms and rock her back and forth, consoling her like she would a three-year-old. Lily didn't care about how childish it was. She held tight to her mum, burying her face in her shoulder, letting her tears flow freely yet again. Not just for the china cabinet or Vernon's accusations this time, but for all of the injustice Lily had to go through. Vernon and Petunia thought she was a freak, and she couldn't tell anyone what she really was, not even her closest Muggle friends. People in the wizarding world hated her for what she was as well, treating her like a worthless nothing. And then there was Potter – why did he live to make her life miserable? What had Lily done wrong to deserve so much maltreatment? It seemed everyone but her parents and close friends was out to get her.

"Why me?" she moaned quietly.

"It'll all be better soon, Lil. You'll feel better soon."

Lily lifted her head a little. Her hair stuck to her wet cheeks, but she didn't move it out of the way. She snuggled closer to her mum, burying her face in her shoulder again. "I love you Mum," she whispered.

"I love you too, Lily."

A/N: Yay! Another chap done. Woaw, am I slow to update or what? Lucky it's March Break. Well, I'm not making any promises, but I think I can post another chap by the end of the week... the rest of Lily's summer and all. Nope, no more crying episodes. If you're confused as to why she cried so much, then... maybe I didn't show the Petunia/Vernon/Muggle-born-hater insults and meanness to her enough. smacks head cause she sucks at writing, hoping that the killing of brain cells may improve her intellect :P (lol if you didnt understand wat I just said, neither do I. :D)

Yeah, haha. I was overmentioning toads and injustice, did u notice:P was it really THAT bad? Meh, i didn't like this chapter too much... (yea and sry for the very unoriginal chapter title! oO;;)

gasp i was thinking of stopping writing my fic due to a bad case of recurring writer's block. But then i realised that I have wayyyyy too much fun writing and I have wayyyy too much planned out to back out now! so, you're stuck with me! nn

So yes, I shall now begin my thankyou's:

First there's always the thank you to PAMMI who is my wonderful editor of editorness. (you noticed Barf / Barfabas wasn't metioned, didn't you? Well he's like... somewhere. Not here anyways... and too busy to go on msn :P)

Okay now to thank my reviewers!

Pammyla: lol, kinda ironic that i already thanked u... fankoos for the hw wishingness! Cept there is no hw... :P whopsies.

Angelgurl161 and APES A LOT: yea, read the author's note at the beginning of last chap. I made the muggle world be in our time, so like muggle time freezes... iono, i dont member, just read the thing. Yea, cause its kinda crucial to the story.

FrEgOrGeLuVeR225: thankoos, hope u'll like this chap as well!

Saerider: thankoos! Sry, i pretty much MADE you wait to read this one. Haha, i'm slow :)

Limbo-gal: ooooh different? In wat way? Yus, i noticed my differentness of style of writing. Heheh, i just dunno how it's different :P

Sooo anyways... hope u enjoyed the chap, don't forget to review! ;)

((This chapter has been edited. **Please note** that some time-period-related errors have been removed, and please don't point these errors out to me anymore because… well, they're gone now! Thanks.))


	7. Summer Part II

Hate Everything About You 

Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.

A/N: okay, last chap, you know the whole Lily/Mandy phone convo about hiding-of-feelings-ness? Yeah, that conversation was supposed to continue through their owls, but i left that all out cause it'd ruin the flow of the story. So ... if you hav any questions about that (cause i thot it mite seem a bit confusing) just ask me... email me... watever. Yeah okay anyways... on with the story!

Chapter Six: Summer Part II

Lily rubbed her eyes. Once they were fully open, she looked around to see what had woken her. The window caught her eye (from which a tapping noise could be heard), and she slowly lifted herself up to pull back the curtains. She winced, expecting to have sunlight stream into the room, but it never came. She opened her eyes more to see an owl tapping on her window, blocking out the sun. Tied to its leg was undoubtedly her Hogwarts letter.

She looked over to her calender. 'August 13th? Good, finally. Now there's only two weeks left until school starts!' Lily thought happily, as she opened the window to let in the dark shape looming outside of it.

The owl perched on her window ledge, refusing to come in, and stuck its leg out at Lily. She carefully untied the letter and turned to leave it on her desk and find some food for the owl. Turning back to face the window, she saw that it had already flown away and was now long gone. 'Talk about an impatient owl!'

Looking at her watch, Lily was surprised to see that it was already eleven in the morning. 'No point in going back to bed then,' she thought, picking up her Hogwarts letter to read it. It told her the usual stuff about the Hogwarts Express, this year's books and new Potions supplies. After reading it over, Lily checked in the envelope to make sure that she wasn't missing anything. A smaller piece of parchment caught her eye, so she fished it out to read it to herself. It was just a small note from Professor McGonagall, congratulating her again on her exceptional OWL results, which she'd recieved a month before. Lily remembered the day she'd recieved them, and how her parents' (and her own) jaws had dropped upon seeing that she'd had no marks under the 'Exceeds Expectations' level. She'd been told she'd made the top five – she wondered who the other four were.

Putting her letter and her school-related thoughts aside, Lily shoved her feet into a pair of slippers which were at least three sizes too small and hopped downstairs for some brunch.

She found the kitchen deserted; her parents had probably left for work hours ago. Opening the fridge, Lily looked over its contents critically.

She scoffed. "No milk, no eggs, three slices of bread left. What am I supposed to eat, biscuits and jam? Dry cereal?"

Suddenly, the phone rang. Lily scrambled to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Lily?" said a familiar voice. Lily's eyes widened.

"M-Madi? Madison Jenkins?" Could this really be her Muggle friend from elementary school?

The girl on the other line squealed. "Lily! You remembered me! Golly, I haven't seen you since we were, what – ten? Eleven?"

Lily could hardly restrain from squealing herself. "Madi! Of course I remembered you! Wow, I'm so glad you called! But, I thought you moved away?"

"Well, yes, I did," Madison said lightly, "But we moved back! London was too busy a place for my Dad's liking."

Madi had moved back... she was here again. Lily wasn't alone in the Muggle world, and better yet, it was her former best friend that had come back! Lily was ecstatic. Was this really happening? "Oh, that's great! Well, the fact that you're back here in Surrey. Are you near your old house?" Which, in fact, had been right next to Lily's, she remembered.

"Well, not exactly. It's about a ten-minute walk from my new place."

"How did you get my number? You surely wouldn't have remembered it after all these years."

"I have an address book. Don't you remember? I was mad about recording things. I wasn't expecting the phone number to work – I thought you may have moved to Spain, so that you could live closer to that Spanish boarding school you've been going to all these years."

Lily giggled nervously. "Just because it's Spanish doesn't mean it's in Spain. I just said 'Spanish' because that's the language you learn there, and it's a large focus. Otherwise, it's just any normal boarding school."

"Oh, silly me," Madi giggled. "So anyway, are you free sometime this week? Maybe we could get together for a bit. Have some coffee, maybe?"

Lily laughed. "I'd love to, but not for coffee. Revolting stuff, I've found. Why don't you come over for lunch today?" she suggested, but visions of her empty refrigerator swam before her mind's eye and she found herself regretting her offer.

"Sure! I'd love to, I just hope –"

"Ooh, sorry," Lily said before it was too late, "I just realised that we don't exactly have any food. Any good food, I mean."

"No problem, come over to my place then!" Madison said warmly, chuckling a bit. "Here, I'll give you the address –"

Lily came into her house, locked the door behind her, kicked off her shoes, and sat down onto the living room couch. (They'd finished painting the room; it was a light orange now, so that it would make their new sculpture – their replacement for the china – stand out.)

Her visit with Madi had surely been interesting. The two had had a great time talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves like good friends. Not like people who'd forgotten each other for five years and told lies to each other, Lily had scolded herself. She felt very guilty about the whole ordeal – she and Madi had been the best of friends in elementary school, and had never kept anything from each other. 'Things change, I guess,' Lily thought.

She laid her head back on the armrest of the couch and thrust her legs over the top of its back. Sighing, Lily remembered her elementary school days. The silly crushes, the science fairs, the math tests, the sports.

The sports. Lily's legs dropped and she sat up, in inspiration. She could almost picture the shining lightbulb atop her head. She quickly went over to the kitchen phone and dialed Madi's number, which she'd written on her arm (ah, again, the nostalgia of the elementary school days).

"Hello, Jenkins residence," Madison said on the other line. She sounded so serious and formal that Lily was sure she'd been expecting one of her mother's clients to call.

"Madi!" Lily practically screamed into the telephone in urgency.

"Wow, Lily, calling so soon?" She sounded amused.

Lily grinned. "Yeah. Do you happen to have the numbers of some of the football freaks in our fifth-grade class in your address book somewhere? Remember, those goofy blokes?"

Madi sounded like she was in deep thought. "I think so," she murmured, apparently moving into another room. After what sounded to Lily like the flipping of pages, Madi spoke, "Yes, I still have them! I just hope they haven't moved out of town or anything. Why so keen on speaking to them?"

"I had a thought. Don't you think it would be great if all our fifth-grade friends from Mulberry got together for a friendly, exciting football game?" Lily grinned widely. She loved football – she'd pick it over Quidditch any day. Even though Quidditch wasn't so bad. Maybe the fact that Potter was on the team was why she felt resentful toward the sport?

"-only for football?" Madi was saying. "Are you sure you're not bugging me to call these guys so that you can see Josh again?"

Lily gasped. "You still remember about Josh? My crush, FIVE YEARS AGO? Mads, I haven't seen him since we were last in school together, do you honestly think that I would still fancy him?"

Madison was grinning, Lily could tell. "Well he really struck you as cute then. You never know – he could be dead handsome now that he's sixteen..."

Lily laughed. "Just go and call them, will you? Call me back after every answer you get – I'll be by the telephone all day, you can be sure of that!"

"Wow, Lil, you sound like they never let you play football at that school of yours. And I thought Spain had great teams! Although you're not in Spain, are you? But that's terribly odd if they don't let you play football at a school like that, I mean–"

Uhoh, big slip-up. What normal, non-wizarding boarding school wouldn't play football? None, Lily was sure. Probably none in Britain. Lily felt as though she were playing with fire, trying to coax it into being tamed, so that she could drown it out with some water.

"Well, I stopped taking physical education after my third year, I had more important courses to focus on," Lily covered. "But every time I saw a first year class tearing up the field out there, my eyes would get even more green, if you catch my drift."

"Yes, of course. Lily the green-eyed monster." Madi chuckled. "Well, that must be dead boring, going to school without playing football. Or any other sport, for that matter. Alright, I'll call them, see you later!"

Lily and Madison made their way to the local park's football field about a week later.

"So, tell me again, who's coming?" Lily asked.

Madi rolled her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. "For the hundredth time, Lily – I called Josh and Thomas and they said that they could come, and they're bringing some friends along. Some we'll know, some we won't."

Lily nodded. "Right. I keep forgetting."

Her friend grinned. "No, you just want to hear me say Josh's name over and over! Josh. Josh. Josh. Josh. Jo- Hey!" Madi fell over, Lily having pushed her hard into the grass.

"Oh, sorry Mads! I didn't mean to shove you."

Madison got up, brushing herself off. "Sure you didn't..."

Grinning, Lily admitted, "Well, I didn't mean to shove you quite so hard."

The girls arrived at the football field, and saw four tall, rather well-built sixteen-year-old boys kicking a football around. Lily recognised three of them almost immediately. They were taller, grown-up versions of Thomas, Ethan, and Paul – her fifth-grade classmates.

Thomas saw the girls and jogged over to them. "Hello, ladies!" he bowed awkwardly. The girls grinned. Same old Thomas.

"Haven't seen you in such a long time, Tom!" Lily exclaimed. "How's life been the past, oh, five years?"

The other three boys joined them.

"We've all been great," Ethan said.

Thomas seemed to notice his friends' presence behind him. "Oh, right, of course. We have some introductions to make. You girls know Ethan and Paul?" He waited for the girls to nod before pointing to a taller, more tan-skinned boy to his left that the girls had never met before. "This is Charlie – he goes to the local high school with us, but he didn't go to Mulberry in elementary school."

"Pleased to meet you," he said, smiling.

"Pleased to meet you, too," Lily replied. And she was – he was polite and friendly. Not to mention handsome.

A few minutes later, though, Lily changed her definition of handsome.

Down toward the field came three more young men. She knew one of them was Josh. She knew he was the one who looked... perfect. His short, dirty blonde hair had golden streaks in it, and Lily felt consumed by his warm, hazel eyes, even from such a distance. Momentarily, she remembered what it was like to have a crush on Josh Harper.

Greetings were exchanged, and the others learned that Josh's two friends (William and George) were from _his_ school. Lily felt slightly dazed as she shook Josh's hand. She imagined it was some strange habit left over from grade five – to feel oddly uncomfortable and dreamy, when around Josh. She shook her head repeatedly, hoping it was that and only that; a habit. 'I fancy Remus now, remember?' she told herself.

"Alright then," Thomas began, having assumed the role of leader. "We have nine people, which means five on one team, four on the other. Two forwards, one defense, and a goalkeeper for each, an extra defense for the larger team." He paused, looking around at his fellow football enthusiasts. "Lily and Mad on different teams, of course."

Madi, flinching at his name for her (Mad as in crazy, he'd used to say), said, "No! Lily and I are on one team." Lily nodded in agreement.

"Fine, just don't blame me when your team loses," Thomas grinned. "Who else should we put on the girls' team?"

"We pick Will and Ethan," Madi stated. Lily nodded again. She didn't care who was on her team, as long as Madi was and Josh wasn't. And as long as she got to play.

"Who else?" Thomas asked.

"Nobody. Four people on our team, five on yours."

The red-haired boy chuckled. "You ladies are plotting your own deaths. Suicidal, says I."

"Whatever, Thomas," Lily grinned. "We know you're a sore loser. You just don't want to admit that we're better than you."

The teams set themselves up (Lily played forward, Madi was in the net), and the game finally began. Lily felt like she was free again. Like she was where she belonged. But something wasn't quite right about this football game.

Lily was quickly regretting her wish for Josh to be on the opposing team. He played defense, and guarded Lily closely. Too closely for comfort, at times. She made it her goal to speed past him not only to be able to shoot or pass, but to prevent any body contact, intentional or not. She didn't fancy Josh, she fancied Remus. Josh was her friend who she hadn't seen for five years. He wasn't supposed to distract her during a football game. Was he doing it on purpose?

Lily sprinted past Josh, kicking the football in front of her. Slackening her speed as she got closer to the net, she slowed down enough to hit the ball hard with the front of her shoe, sending it flying toward the net. Charlie, who was playing goalie, lunged, and missed. As did the ball, which went flying at least two metres away from the goalpost.

Frowning, Lily reflected on her shot. What had happened to her aim?

The game started again as Charlie kicked the ball in. George kicked it up the field, passing Will, scoring on Madi. Lily wasn't the only one who wasn't playing her best today.

Madi kicked the football in this time, and Lily felt determined to score. Naturally, she felt proud and accomplished when she did so. The kind of feeling she got when getting her Charms essays back after being marked.

The game went on, and by the time their first half was done, each team had scored themselves another goal.

"That – was – fun." Lily panted.

"How long is our break before we start playing again?" George asked, slightly out of breath as well.

Thomas checked his watch. "Oh, I don't know... five minutes?" Everyone agreed.

Lily and Madi went to get their water bottles that they'd left near the goalposts on their side.

"So... tied, 2-2." Lily said.

"We'll have to show them who's boss next half," Madi said brightly.

"Yeah, you were great in net Mads."

"Thanks. You were great playing forward."

Lily smiled. "I love football. I didn't think I'd be able to play still, after so many years. I guess it's one of those things you never lose, like –"

"Like riding a bike," Madi finished.

"Yeah." Lily was terrified. She'd almost said, 'like riding a broomstick.' That couldn't be good. She'd have to be more careful about what she said.

"Lily, over here!" Ethan called. "We're starting!"

"Good luck," Madi said, slipping into her position. Lily nodded and ran over beside Ethan, her fellow forward.

This time it was very hard for Lily to score. Thomas and Josh had switched positions, and Thomas was quite a rough player. He didn't make Lily feel uncomfortable like Josh did, but he kind of scared her.

"Stop smothering me!" Lily said irritably, as she tried to kick the ball past him.

"I'm not smothering you, I'm being defensive!" Thomas countered.

"Well stop!"

"Stop what?"

Suddenly, Paul zoomed by and stole the ball, which had been sitting in the grass right in front of Lily. Both Thomas and Lily gaped. Seconds later, Paul scored.

"Hey, you did that on purpose!" Lily accused.

"Did what?" Thomas demanded.

"You were stalling, distracting me from the ball so that Paul could steal it away!"

"I was not!"

Lily grumbled and walked back to her own side to wait for Madi's kick. No more miss nice girl.

The ball came straight to her and she pelted up the field. She ran towards Thomas. She swerved. She could tell he was surprised. Why her sudden rush of energy, he'd be thinking. No one provoked Lily Evans without suffering the consequences. She was going to hit him hard. Not only was she going to even out the score, she was going to get her team another 5 goals. Another 10 goals. She was determined.

Thomas seemed to catch on to her attitude and added extra vigour to his pursuit. Lily kept on swerving, making wide turns, still quite far from the net. She turned again, and Thomas was behind her. And the net was in front of her and Charlie was in front of the net. Nothing else.

Seizing her opportunity, Lily sprinted forward. What happened next happened so quickly that Lily hadn't known what hit her until she was lying on her back in the grass, her foot stuck under her, and Thomas on top of her. She felt the crack more than she heard it.

"Oww!" she screamed. "Get off, get off!" Her ankle was broken, she knew it.

Thomas attempted standing up, failed, and rolled over on the grass instead.

Lily felt like she couldn't move. She couldn't get her leg out from underneath her. She tried to roll over as well. Now on her stomach, she straightened her left leg, but screamed again as her foot touched the grass.

Everyone had come running over. Thomas had regained his balance, and was watching Lily in horror.

"It's broken!" she wailed. She was embarrassed when hot tears began pouring down her cheeks. She couldn't roll over onto her back again.

Madi helped her roll over, while screaming at the boys to go get help.

"Don't worry, I have crutches at my house. And I can make a bit of a makeshift cast, too," Thomas said. Lily could tell he felt guilty.

"Go then!" Madison yelled. Tom and Paul both sprinted as fast as they could to Tom's house to get the said items.

Lily tried sitting up, only managing to lift her head.

"Shh," Madi cooed, as Lily's tears kept falling, some of them now caused by frustration. "Take a few deep breaths. Then slowly, I'll help you sit up."

The other boys watched quietly as they accomplished this. None of them chose to mention the 3-2 score. Not even Thomas would have.

Madison propped Lily's left leg up with her own knees. The girls put their arms around each other's shoulders, Lily slowly regaining her composure.

"Is it broken for sure?" she asked quietly.

Madi contemplated Lily's ankle. "Maybe."

Huddled in a group nearby, the boys (minus Thomas and Paul) were talking in hushed voices. Lily wondered why they seemed so grave. They probably didn't know how to react when a girl who they hadn't seen for five years suddenly broke her ankle in their midst. Josh, for one, kept glancing back at Lily. She hoped Madi wouldn't notice.

Thomas and Paul came running back awkwardly, their arms full. Paul was burdened with some crutches, Tom with a first aid kit and a narrow block of wood about six inches long.

Lily sat up a little straighter, happy to be helped, but hoping that Thomas knew what he was doing.

"I'm really sorry," he said softly, sitting down beside Madi to be near Lily's ankle. Lily nodded.

"Alright, I don't have much in this kit, but I'll do what I can." After taking off her shoe and sock (which was a slow and painful process), Thomas took a roll of bandages and wrapped it slowly and carefully, yet tightly, around Lily's ankle. It seemed that he did know what he was doing, after all. Lily winced as he wound the bandage around her leg a little more tightly than the other times. He continued noiselessly, with everyone watching him, and finally cut the bandage and secured it.

Next, he took the piece of wood and held it against Lily's leg as Charlie wrapped some duct tape around to fasten it. Lily closed her eyes tightly, trying not to scream, as Tom straightened her foot to put the wood against it.

"There, done. I hope my makeshift cast works," Thomas said. He looked at Lily. "Need a hand?"

"What?"

"Well, if you're going to use my crutches, you'll need to be standing up first."

Lily offered her hands and slowly got up to a standing position (except with one foot, of course). "But, won't your crutches be too big for me?" she aked.

"No, I used them when I was nine or something – remember when I fell off that horse? They might be a little short, but they'll do for now."

Thomas was right: they were short, and they would be alright to use until Lily could be taken to a doctor. But he was wrong in the sense that the crutches weren't a little short, but VERY short. Lily was practically leaning over to get her arms on them as comfortably as possible. Once she was familiarised with them, Lily made a slow lap around the football field to demonstrate her skill with crutches, as well as to get more used to the feel of walking with them.

Just seeing Lily able to walk, or at least to move around rather freely, seemed to lighten the mood considerably.

"I'm really sorry about that," Thomas repeated.

Lily smiled. "It's alright, really. What happened anyway? All I was aware of were the impact and the fall."

"I was running at you from the side and I sort of, you know, tripped..."

Lily nodded slowly. She had a feeling that Thomas was keeping something from her, judging by her peers' disbelieving looks that shone through their attempts to hide their doubts, but chose to ignore it for now.

"Anyway, how does your ankle feel?" Madi asked, breaking the short silence.

"My ankle? I can't feel my ankle anymore, Thomas wrapped it up so tightly. Which is a good thing, since it replaces the pain."

"So it doesn't hurt anymore?"

Lily smirked. "You only asked about my ankle, Mads. I didn't say I was free of pain. My whole leg is killing me... but I'll be fine. I just think that maybe we should go home now."

"Alright," Madison agreed. "How about you stay at my house until your parents come home? That way you won't have to be alone with only one good leg."

Lily agreed and Madi volunteered to go collect their things. Following Madi's example, most of the guys went to get ready to leave as well. Only Josh was nearby.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked casually, approaching her.

"Yeah, I'll pull through."

"Well," he began, chucked a bit, then continued, "I was going to ask you out, but you know, what with this..." he gestured toward Lily's left leg and her makeshift cast.

Lily was slightly taken aback. Josh had practically asked her on a date, and after not having seen her for five years? It certainly was odd. Lily tried to hide her surprise and said smoothly, "I'd love to, but I can't."

Josh frowned slightly. "Why not? I fancied you in grade five, you know. And now that I see you, five years later... You're an incredible girl, Lily, and I'd love to get to know you again. You shouldn't let a broken ankle limit you so much."

Lily looked at him with surprise. Sure he was cute – more like incredibly handsome – but she wasn't willing to go out with a guy she hadn't seen since the age of ten.

"That's – that's not the only reason." Quietly. She didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"Well why then? Why can't you bear to spend any time alone with me?" His feelings evidently were hurt, despite Lily's attempts to be nice about the whole thing.

"Like I said before, I'd love to go out with you, but I can't. I – I already have a boyfriend," she found herself saying. She hated lying, and was especially horrible at it. She hoped that she could pull this one off, though, otherwise she'd have to tell Josh the real reason why she didn't want to go out with him... which could lead to the revealing of her school's real identity – _her_ real identity.

"Oh, well, what's his name?" Josh asked, trying to stay friendly.

Lily said the first male name that came to her head. "Remus Lupin." She had the strongest urge to clap her hand over her mouth, but instead went on, "You wouldn't know him. He lives in Ireland. I mean, London. I mean... yes, London. Oh, sorry, I'm so mixed up because he moved recently, so I keep forgetting that he doesn't live in Whales anymore. I mean... Ireland."

Josh seemed to chuckle in spite of himself. "Your boyfriend must move around a lot. Where was he born? Lupin doesnt sound very English to me."

"Oh, uh, Remus is French. He was born in Paris, actually. That's why his last name is French."

"French?"

"Yes – Lupin. It's a funny way to say lapin, which means rabbit. Those Parisians have the oddest French accent you'll ever hear." At this point, Lily was close to breaking down. That, or bursting out laughing that Josh had believed her story. How had it ever come to mind to pretend that Remus was her boyfriend? She had a good guess.

"And what about Remus? Is that a French word as well?" Lily didn't know if Josh was taking this well, if he was mocking her 'boyfriend', or if he was just being friendly and trying to think of something for conversation.

"Remus is a French word, yes. Remuer is a verb that means 'to move'. Remus would be the singular, first- or second-person conjugation of the verb. Except that in French it's pronounced 'Rémue', instead of 'Ree-mus,'" Lily invented wildly.

Josh seemed as though he wanted to ask Lily something more, but Madi came back at that precise moment.

"Shall we go?" she asked.

"Sure," Lily agreed, happy to get away from the awkward situation. Of course, walking with crutches that were too short for you was an awkward situation as well, but at least she wouldn't have to make up French meanings for names.

She wondered if she'd turned down Josh for any reason besides the Muggle-witch barrier and the fact that they could only see each other during vacations if they ever formed a real relationship. Maybe it was because of the way he'd intimidated her during the football game. Lily had an odd feeling that watching how someone played football could help you define them as a person.

And Lily definitely didn't want an intimidating boyfriend. Which was maybe where Remus came in.

It was a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon at Diagon Alley. A fiery redhead could be seen walking around using crutches. Crutches? Who used those in the wizarding world? Did they even exist in the wizarding world? Lily was definitely an odd sight for many passersby. She looked away from those who chose to stare at her and at the odd contraptions that she used to help her walk.

It had been two days since the eventful football game, and Lily's parents had taken her to a good Muggle doctor to get her a real cast and some crutches that fit. Now that she was feeling infinitely better, she was ready to begin (and hopefully finish) her back-to-school shopping. Her mum had refused to let her go alone, though, and was currently at Gringott's, trying to convert English currency to wizard currency again.

By now Lily was almost done, and the rucksack on her back was stuffed with shopping bags full of new books, potions ingredients, and refills of ink, quills, and parchment. Feeling its full weight, Lily decided to take a break and treat herself to some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour before going to meet her mum.

She sat down carefully at a small table and propped her crutches against it before taking her rucksack off. One of the waiters came and Lily ordered herself a simple strawberry ice cream cone.

As she waited, she felt someone's presence behind her. She turned around to face the waiter, but instead saw Remus.

Lily flushed. "Oh, hi Remus."

"Hi, mind if I sit with you?" Remus was dressed in Muggle clothing like Lily. He had an empty ice cream cup in his hand.

"Of course," Lily smiled. After Remus had seated himself, she asked, "So, how has your summer been so far?"

"It's been... okay. What about you? What happened to your leg?"

Lily looked down at her cast. "I broke my ankle playing football with some Muggle friends."

"Football. That Muggle sport? I learned about it in Muggle Studies; I thought it wasn't as dangerous as Quidditch?"

"It's not, but my friend came pelting at me to prevent me from scoring. He didn't think the impact would be quite so hard..." Thomas had lied to Lily in saying that their collision was an accident. Madi had explained what had really happened when they'd been walking to Madi's house later, and Lily wasn't pleased that Thomas had lied to her.

"Oh, ouch, are you alright?"

Lily nodded. "I'm alright. It still hurts, since it's only been two days, but I'll be okay. I just don't know how I'm supposed to go around Hogwarts with these things," she waved at her crutches.

Remus studied Lily for a bit. "Why would you have to go to Hogwarts with a broken ankle? Can't you go to St. Mungo's to get it fixed?"

"St. Mungo's?"

"Yeah, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. It's a wizard's hospital."

"Really? I never knew one existed. So, if I go there, I can get my ankle fixed just like how Madam Pomfrey would be able to fix it?"

Remus smiled. Lily loved his smile, and how his blue-grey eyes lit up every time. "Of course, probably even quicker. Do you need an address?"

"Oh, yes please." She took a pen out of her pocket, and poised it to write the address on her arm, as she didn't want to have to rummage through all her bags to find some parchment. Remus looked at Lily quizzically, and was about to ask her something, but the waiter came with her ice cream that precise moment.

"Thank you," Lily said as he handed her the cone full of strawberry ice cream. "How about I pay you now? How much does this cost?"

"One Sickle and three Knuts," he said warmly.

Lily put her pen down and used her free hand to hunt around in her pocket.

"Here, I'll pay for it Lily," Remus offered. He pulled out the money and handed it to the waiter, who vanished.

Lily flushed. "You didn't have to do that."

"I just wanted to treat you. Consider it a 'get well soon' gift."

"Thank you," she beamed. Remus was such a thoughtful guy.

"Well, would you like me to give you the address for St. Mungo's? I have a quill and parchment, if you like."

"No thanks, I'll just use pen to write it on my arm."

"Why?"

Lily grinned. "Muggle habit, I guess."

As Remus told her how to get to St. Mungo's (as well has how to get in), Lily looked up Diagon Alley. In the distance, she saw a spot of black that was messy in a very familiar way. It was coming closer by the second. She urged Remus to hurry up.

"Why, do you have to leave? You've barely touched your ice cream."

"Well, I'm in a bit of a hurry... I have to, er, meet my mum at Gringott's. Here, can you help me eat the ice cream? I won't be able to eat it while I walk."

"How about this... you eat as much as you can, while I write down the directions on a scrap piece of parchment, then I'll eat the rest for you once I'm done."

Lily studied the already-smuged blue ink on her arm. "Sure, thanks."

She smiled. Remus didn't mind sharing an ice cream with her. That was like an indirect kiss! She wondered if maybe he felt the same way...

Remus' hand sped across the parchment, while Lily licked away at her ice cream. They probably would have been quite a sight to passersby. The thought was driven out of Lily's head as Potter, his messy hair, and his other two friends kept coming closer and closer.

Finally, Remus was finished. The two swapped the ice cream and the parchment, the latter which Lily stuffed into her pocket. She swung her bag over one shoulder and took her crutches.

"See you in a week or so, Remus. And thanks for the address, and the ice cream."

"Bye," he said warmly.

James, Sirius, and Peter were feet away now. She hoped that Potter hadn't spotted her. Of course he had, though. Her red hair was a huge giveaway, two times over. All she could hope for now was a quick getaway.

Lily turned, raised the hood of her sweater over her head (a tricky feat when done while leaning on crutches), and sped away as fast as her crutches and her right leg could muster.

And as she went towards Gringott's to meet her mum, she was strongly tempted to turn back and ask Remus whether or not he was French.

A/N: Phew I finished! Finally! I'm SO SORRY that it took me a month to update! I had this huge writer's block that lasted... at least two weeks, maybe three. Well, at least this chapter is double the length I normally write. Gives you more to read, so maybe you won't eat me as much! P

Oh, and about the French name stuffs... 'lapin' is an actual word in French, and so is 'remuer' (which I actually looked up in my French-English dictionary!). Except, 'remus' wouldn't be the proper conjugation; remuer is an –er verb. (je remue, tu remues, il/elle/on remue, nous remuons, vous remuez, ils/elles remuent... I think.) Oh, well, Lily's making the stuff up anyways! I'm sure Parisians don't pronounce 'lapin' like 'lupin'. P

Alright, well, next chap Lily's gunna be starting sixth year, and I promise some more Lily-James conflicts! (yay, fun!) I actually have sixth year planned out pretty well (which I may have mentioned before...), so be ready for some anger, greif, confusion... the works! D

And now for your favourite part, I getta thank the reviewers!

FrEgOrGeLuVeR225 – Thankoos. Yes, sad... heheh. I mean... Aww! bursts into tears at the thought of Lily crying cause Lily is cool and shouldn't have to cry or endure her sister's and Vernon's evolness all the time Well, I hope you like this chap, she cries again! P

MooKittee - dies laughing Well, I guess that's what happens when you n me are sharing a brain! Lolness, moment of silence followed by a moment of reflection. is reminded of Shaan Hey, my writing is Barfalicious? oO;; I'm assuming that's a good thing... didja know Barf's not my editor anymore? He never talks to me on MSN so it's like... what's the point of bugging him to edit? Plus, Pammi roxors at editing! )

Pigwidgeon188 – Yay, I'm glad you like it so far. Umm... update soon? Heheh... whops.

Munkylover256 – Thanks! I took your advice and kept writing, and now you're gonna havta read a super-long chap! Yay...?

The counter – I'm not a horny weirdo with no life. If i was, my story would be rated R. R as in veRy not good for kids and maybe hoRny as well. (sorry if ne1 here's written an R-rated fic. I'm just trying to illustrate a point.) neways, alotta HP fans write Romance fics because if they're writing something BASED on J. K. Rowling's wonderful world, they'd wanna elaborate on SOMETHING a bit more. And seeing as the characters' romance isn't the centre of the story, what better to elaborate on than their love lives? Plus, ALL Lily/James fics are romance, cause we all know the outcome, no? So your points kinda invalid, sorry. Hope you enjoyed if you actually read, though.

Limbo-gal – Lily/James action is coming up, just like I promised before! But not romantic-ish, if that's what you meant. P

SnufflestheInsane – Please don't sue me. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take so long, seriously. Heheh, how 'serious' would you like Sirius and Amber's relationship to be?

Fallen-Snow – Doubtful? When did I say Lily was feeling doubtful? As i said, she's gotta hang in there 'till seventh year, so don't be expecting anything Feifs. : Yay, lard tub. I'm evol. (hey, you seriously thought I was gonna give my fanfic up? My funny LiveJournal storything has been given up, yes, but how could I possibly give up on THIS? P I still have like, two or three other fic ideas that I havent started on cause I like writing this fic way too much. Heheh.)

Alright, well, that was alot of thanking, so I'll make one final thankyou before I leave you all at peace. Thank you to... PAMMI! D She is teheditor of editorness, and because of her, my story makes a bit more sense! Yay!

Hope you enjoyed the chap, cross your fingers that I won't get writer's block, and howsabout you review while you're at it? grins though typing with crossed fingers kinda hurts...

((This chapter has been edited. **Please note** that some time-period-related errors have been removed, and please don't point these errors out to me anymore because… well, they're gone now! Thanks.))


	8. ReCooked?

**Hate Everything About You  
  
Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.  
  
A/N: I won't even BEGIN to apologize for how late an update this was. **

**

* * *

Chapter Seven – Re-cooked?**  
  
After a lengthy goodbye with her parents, Lily finally crossed the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Gripping the handle of her trolley, she surveyed the crowd in search of her friends. She spotted Alice – or at least the back of her – chatting with her parents, and pushed her trolley in their direction.  
  
She paused momentarily to affix her Prefect badge a little more securely onto her t-shirt. She knew that she would forget to pin it to her robes later on if she just kept it in the pocket of her jeans.  
  
Lily was about to continue walking when she felt a pair of strong arms slide around her waist, pulling her back gently. She gasped. What was going on? Who was holding her like that? Lily's first guess was Remus, despite the tiny probability of her crush showing displays of affection before he'd even found out that she fancied him.  
  
Whoever they were, they had a very comforting embrace. Lily felt herself leaning back in his arms, resting her head on his chest. She didn't listen at all to her 'sensible' side's bickering to look up and find out who it was, and instead relaxed. She closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. Lily longed just to turn and wrap her arms around Remus' neck – providing that it was Remus. Of course it was! Who else? She felt his face slowly moving closer to hers from behind...  
  
"Hey, Evans," James Potter whispered into Lily's ear.  
  
James Potter. Lily jumped back in horror, repulsion, surprise. Unluckily, whoever-they-were (much less likely to be Remus now) was right behind Lily, with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. He fell back, and pulled Lily right down with him.  
  
Lily was lying on her back, on top of someone. Someone who had been holding her before. Someone who she had leaned into. Someone who she was sure was James Potter.  
  
James groaned. "Lil, you know I love you and your beautiful behind, but that behind is jamming into my... you know."  
  
Rolling over onto the ground immediately, Lily scorned herself for staying on top of Potter for that long, but mostly she scorned herself for jumping to conclusions. How could she have thought that was Remus? Sure she could have hoped, but shouldn't she have at least checked first? It was all Potter's fault. If he was going to go up to her and hug her, he should have at least told her who it was beforehand. Then she wouldn't have thought it was Remus, and she would have had a fair chance to escape. Finally getting up off her stomach, Lily's anger surfaced.  
  
"Thanks a lot Potter. If I needed you to give me the Heimlich maneuvre, I would've asked first," she said in an icy tone.  
  
James, who had been grinning, close to laughing, even, narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about, Evans? You enjoyed that and you know it. You only had anything wrong with me holding you when you heard my voice."  
  
"Yeah, when I heard your voice, because I realised it was YOU. If you'd wanted it to last, you shouldn't have spoken."  
  
"Well, I'll remember that for next time," he grinned.  
  
"Oh, there isn't going to be a next time, Potter. Don't you count on it." Lily turned to walk away.  
  
"You still liked it, though!" James called after her.  
  
Lily turned back and came close to James, so that nobody else would hear her. "Yeah, I liked it when I thought you were Re–" she cut herself off.  
  
"Re? What re? Re... remade? Rebuilt? Re-cooked?"  
  
"Sure, when I thought you were re-cooked, Potter," Lily said sarcastically.  
  
James snapped out of the jokes. "Who did you think I was, Lil?"  
  
"My name is Lily Evans, not 'Lil', and I thought you were someone else, alright?"  
  
James looked at her doubtfully. "Alright..."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and muttered 'idiot' under her breath. She turned around and walked back over to find her trolley (which had been pushed away by the crowd), then toward Alice, who was now facing Lily, an amused look on her face.  
  
"What?" Lily asked.  
  
Alice's grin widened. "Oh, nothing... I just think that our sixth year had a turn for the better before it even started."  
  
Lily frowned. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, we won't have to listen to you and James bickering so much, now that you've taken a liking to him." The grin stayed plastered on Alice's face. It would have gotten even wider if she hadn't already been grinning enough to split her face in two.  
  
Making a face, Lily shoved Alice lightly. "You're supposed to be the nice one, Alice, not the one who makes fun of me!" She stuck her tongue out.  
  
Alice chuckled. "Making fun? Why would you say that?" she asked innocently.  
  
"Okay, why don't we board the train now? It's going to be leaving soon."  
  
"There are still ten minutes, though, aren't there?"  
  
"Yes, but we want to get a good compartment for all of us. We should look for Mandy and Amber, too," Lily suggested.  
  
"Alright, lead the way."

--------------------------------  
  
Remus arrived in the Prefects' compartment partway through the train ride. He looked around for any familiar faces and spotted Lily right away, with her unmistakable red hair.  
  
"Hullo, Lily," he greeted as he approached her.  
  
Lily turned around and smiled when she saw Remus. "Hi. How was your last week of summer?"  
  
"Pretty good," he lied, remembering the full moon just three days before. He indicated Lily's leg. "I see that you took my advice and got your ankle fixed up."  
  
Smiling again, Lily said, "Thanks again for the address. It was a virtually painless recovery, and saved me a lot of time – especially now that I can walk normally again."  
  
Remus opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted.  
  
"Good afternoon, everyone," Amos Diggory, a seventh-year Hufflepuff and this year's Head Boy, began cheerfully. The chatter died down as he continued, "I trust your summers were all wonderfully spent relaxing, but as Prefects, your relaxing time is now officially over." He managed to keep a cheery tone as he announced this, which was especially astonishing to Remus considering Amos was going to have the most burdens of them all.  
  
Many Prefects gave Amos disbelieving looks. Was it legal for the Head Boy to get down to business so quickly? Remus could tell that many of them hoped for the Head Girl to be more laid-back than Amos was. He guessed that she was, considering she hadn't even made an appearance yet.  
  
Amos grinned. "I knew that would get your attention. Before we begin, I'd like to say congratulations to all of the newly-appointed Prefects, as well as to this year's Head Girl: Violetta Sterling of Ravenclaw."  
  
Violetta emerged from a door leading to the Head compartment, beaming.  
  
"Amos and I are truly honoured to have this amazing leadership opportunity," she said to the Prefects. "Not only will it look great on our résumés, it'll teach us a lot about, well, school, and leadership, and responsibility. I'd like to mention before we start the real meeting that we will greatly appreciate it if you all contribute in making our lives easier. That is, do what you're supposed to do, show up, and stay out of trouble outside of your Prefect duties." She looked pointedly at the Slytherins for no more than a split second before continuing, "You might also have to cut us some slack the first few weeks this term, as this is very new to us and we have about ten times more responsibilities than we had last year as Prefects. Don't be surprised if we ask you for help that is additional to your normal duties, and please note that helping us out will only be voluntary. You don't have to if you don't want to – if you have a lot of homework, for example. Especially our fifth and seventh year students, what with OWLs and NEWTs coming up..."  
  
"Don't worry, Vi, you guys are going to do great!" a seventh year Gryffindor shouted encouragingly.  
  
Violetta smiled. "Thanks, Liz. Alright, I suppose I have been rambling, so I'll hand the spotlight over to Amos, who, hopefully, is more adept a public speaker than I am."  
  
Some Prefects chuckled appreciatively at this while Amos climbed back onto the small stage that was set up for the Heads.  
  
Remus found that his short attention span was getting the better of him. His thoughts strayed away from this year's Prefect duties, and further back to the beginning of the train ride. He'd been sitting in the Marauders' compartment, chatting with Peter, when a rather agitated James burst in, followed shortly by Sirius.  
  
"What's the matter?" Remus had asked.  
  
James had given him a look that practically screamed 'Lily'. Remus had raised his eyebrows to indicate that he was listening.  
  
Then James had retold the story. He'd explained his urge to go wrap his arms around Lily, and how he'd caved in. The embrace had started out well, and then... the regular James-Lily feud.  
  
That wasn't what was troubling Remus, though. James had said that Lily had mistaken him for someone else... Re-someone. All of the Marauders had immediately guessed Remus, the latter trying desperately to prove them wrong, especially James.  
  
If Lily fancied Remus... that would change everything. He'd feel guilty every time he talked to her; their friendship wouldn't be as laid-back. James would also have a much harder time getting Lily to fall for him, unless Remus purposely acted like an idiot to shake her off. Though James would never make him do that, despite how jealous he may feel of his best friend. Remus hoped it would never come down to that. He wanted Lily to hate him even less than he wanted her to fancy him.  
  
Remus glanced over at Lily, who was listening attentively to Amos and Violetta. What if she did fancy him? If James wasn't already smitten with her and if she ever confessed her feelings, would Remus ever ask her out? Probably not, what with the werewolf barrier. He didn't want to hurt anyone, whether it be physically or emotionally.  
  
He pondered over the subject a bit more, trying to think of other Hogwarts boys around their age starting with 'Re'. After awhile he realised how long he'd been absorbed in his thoughts and turned his attention back to the Head students.

--------------------------------  
  
"So how did the meeting go?" Alice asked as Lily entered their compartment.  
  
"It was okay. What did I miss?"  
  
Mandy grinned. "Well, Amber here was telling us a charming story of certain summertime get-togethers..."  
  
"Oh, would you stop making fun of me?" Amber pouted in an uncannily Sirius- like way.  
  
"Sirius, I presume?" Lily grinned as well.  
  
Amber blushed fuchsia as Mandy and Alice said in unison, "Of course! Who else?" The latters began giggling not only from saying the same thing at the same time, but also from seeing Amber's expression.  
  
Lily plopped down on the seat across from Amber. "So, would you like to fill me in?"  
  
Amber rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless. "Alright, alright. Coincidentally, Sirius and I both live in the same area of London, quite close to Diagon Alley. So one day near the beginning of July I decided to hop over to Florean Fortescue's for some ice cream. And guess who I saw there?"  
  
"Sirius!" Lily laughed. Amber was quite a good storyteller once you got it out of her.  
  
"Exactly," she continued. "So I walk past to see if he notices and sure enough, he's bellowing at me. 'AMBER! OI! OVER HERE!'" Amber was excellent at imitating Sirius. "So I went over and sat down beside him and he got me some ice cream."  
  
"And then?" Lily asked as Amber paused.  
  
"And then we decided to meet at Florean Fortescue's once a week for the rest of the summer."  
  
"Wow, that's a lot of weeks."  
  
"Well, not if you count the two or three that he spent at James' house in Godric's Hollow," Alice piped in.  
  
Lily made a face at the mention of Potter's name. Unfortunately for her, Mandy noticed and was reminded of something else they'd been talking about earlier.  
  
"Speaking of James, how about your little hug-fest this morning?"  
  
"Oh, boy, not this again." Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
Mandy grinned. "Well you didn't explain it well enough last time for us to understand what you were talking about."  
  
Lily leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, sighing. "Look, he came up from behind and hugged me. At first I thought it was Remus so I... liked it... but then he whispered into my ear and I completely flipped out. I started yelling at him and almost let it slip that I thought he'd been Remus and he was standing there stupidly guessing at what I meant by 're.'"  
  
"Ah, so you've made up your mind," Mandy said knowingly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You fancy Remus."  
  
Lily felt her face get warm. "I – I guess I do, don't I?"

* * *

**A/N: This is only really half the chap. Well, it was supposed to be. I decided to end it here cause it kinda fit... and so that you guys wouldn't think I died. --;; But anyway, the train ride's not done yet – more in the nxt chap! I'll just tell you that it won't be very Lily-James centred but still something vital to the story.  
  
You know what's weird? Whenever I make people tell stories (Amber and Lily in this chap, for example) they always sound like, exactly how i would retell them. 'Cept I'd probably add in some more imitations of people, heheh.  
  
Alright well enough of my ramblings, time to thank the reviewers!  
  
alyssa and ally341 – you're the same person, aren't you... heheh, well I updated. Yes, pummel me to death for taking over a month – i think i deserve it.  
  
Fallen-Snow – teehee, me and Jenn playing b-ball. Yeah, it is kinda like that, isn't it? Maybe i did that on purpose! gasp we may never know... [Hey, i don't hate football! Do I...??? bleh. w/e u say feifs! XD]  
  
Pigwidgeon188 – yay, glad you liked it; hope u like this chap as well! Eek, sorry for long update. :(  
  
Limbo-gal – heheh, that action enuff for you? NO!?!?!?? lol well toooo bad... grins i'm so nice...  
  
Yuka – they're playing soccer, eh? In europe, soccer is called football. Its actually the other way around, lol. We call football soccer. Heh. Anway, notice how I never had 'em throwing, n there were ppl in net... lol. Nooooo! Shane references!!?!??!??! Imma DIE!! :O:O:O:O:O neway, hope u likes. :]  
  
MooKittee – how many chapters? Alot... at LEAST till the end of seventh year, i might go longer if i feel like it and if people like my fic... neway, here's the update u asked for! Teehee. Im a cheepo.  
  
Distant34 – yay, glad u like it so far. Awk, typing with crossed fingers IS annoying. Im goin at like 20 wpm – 1/3 my usual speed!!  
  
Realmer06 - :] your review put a smile on my face! Not as square as that one... heheh. But yay, you think I improve with every chapter? That's gotta be a good thing! :D and don't worry, I uncrossed my fingers :)  
  
FrEgOrGeLuVeR225 – glad you liked it! hehe, it would stink, eh? I never broken anything... lol, i love your reviews but everytime i reply it takes so long to write your name out cause i keep forgetting the exact spelling!! :P o well, next time you review hinthint i'll get it right without having to look! :D  
  
Soooo... Review if you liked it, review anyway if you didn't! And let's all hope that I'll get the second half of this chap up before the end of school. --;; Okay, I KNOW I'll be able to do that, heh.  
  
I re-edited the formatting of this chap cause i decided to use dashes stead of asterixes n stuffs... so now it's not as confusing to read anymore! :)**


	9. Soon to Change

**Hate Everything About You  
  
Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realises that this isn't true?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.  
  
A/N: Okay, this is really cheap. [I already apologized for this, but...] My last chap had some really stupid errors in it... the QuickEdit thingy took out all the asterixes that were supposed to separate section-thingies... so it's like Lily and Alice are talking and then all of a sudden it's from Remus's point of view... and on the same line... o0;; okay, well, i put dashes instead for this chap... Bleh, not as good as asterixes, but it'll have to do. Neways, on to the story... i TOLD you I'd update before the end of school! Hehe. (by the way, my last day of school is June 23, so HA! =P)**

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**Chapter 8 – Soon to Change**  
  
Darkness was gathering outside as the Hogwarts Express sped on towards Hogsmeade station.  
  
"So did you hear the thing about Martha Stanley?" Amber asked, eyes wide.  
  
"What thing?" Lily asked, expecting some kind of gossip.  
  
Alice and Amber exchanged glances.  
  
"Her – her dad was murdered. By V-Voldemort and his Death Eaters," Alice explained quietly.  
  
Lily's eyes widened. This was not the gossip she'd been expecting.  
  
But...  
  
"Who's Voldemort?" Mandy asked, taking the words right out of Lily's mouth.  
  
"You haven't heard of Voldemort?" Amber was amazed.  
  
"No," the Muggleborn girls said in unison.  
  
"Well, he's a murderer. He's very anti-Muggle and he's gathering supporters, who he calls Death Eaters, to do the dirty work for him in his fight against Muggles, Muggleborns, and Muggle-supporters," Amber explained.  
  
Alice added bitterly, "So basically, he wants to 'purify' the world so all there is left is Pureblood wizards under his rule, worshipping the ground he walks on."  
  
This time, Lily and Mandy exchanged glances.  
  
"Wow, this guy is twisted," Mandy commented. "But how come Lily and I have never heard of him?"  
  
"He only made himself known over the summer," Alice explained. "Amber and I were going to write to you girls about him, but we thought maybe you knew already."  
  
Lily was feeling a bit frustrated. Sometimes, being a Muggleborn had its downsides. "Of course we didn't know, seeing as during the summer we're completely cut off from the wizarding world. It gets annoying, being out of the loop so much, you know?"  
  
Mandy nodded slightly, a bit taken aback by Lily's quite sudden ouburst after staying quiet for so long.  
  
Lily noticed and felt a bit stupid. "Sorry, it's just –"  
  
She was cut off by a loud bang on the door. The girls all turned their heads to see what was happening. A tall boy with black hair was leaning back against the glass door, rocking back and forth on his heels. There was a resonating bang every time he made impact with the glass, making it shake in its very frame.  
  
Since his back was turned, the girls couldn't glare at him to make him stop, so Lily stood up to go tell him off. She yanked the door open once he'd started moving forward again.  
  
"Excuse me, could you please –"  
  
No sooner had those five words come out of her mouth, she was toppled over by the boy's impact with what was supposed to be the glass door. Poor Lily had forgotten that by moving forward, the boy was bound to start going backwards again.  
  
She gave a shriek as he collided with her, and the two went down towards the floor as though they were falling in slow motion. Luckily, the compartment's floor was carpeted. Lily could only imagine what it had felt like for James earlier that day when she'd practically slammed him into the pavement.  
  
'Speaking of James...' Lily thought.  
  
"Geroff me, Potter," she groaned from underneath him.  
  
"You thought I was James? You were hoping it was him who knocked you over, weren't you?" Sirius laughed, raising himself off Lily, almost kicking her in the process.  
  
'Well that explains why his hair was longer,' Lily thought, slightly embarassed in spite of herself. Before she could answer, Sirius caught sight of Amber.  
  
He grinned. "Why, hello!"  
  
Amber smiled and stood up to give Sirius a hug. The two seemed ready to kiss when Lily decided it would be a good time to interrupt and ask her question.  
  
"What were you doing, banging on our compartment door, Black?"  
  
Sirius kept moving his face closer and closer to his girlfriend's and didn't seem to notice Lily's question until Amber jabbed him lightly and cocked her head toward her red-haired friend.  
  
Sirius turned his head and cleared his throat. "Right. Umm, what did you say?"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "I asked why you were banging on our compartment door."  
  
"Aha. Just trying to get your attention." He grinned. "Jamesie wanted to talk to you, so I came over to make you promise that you won't walk out on him, slap him, kick him, or do anything physically or emotionally hurtful toward him before he has a chance to speak to you."  
  
As funny as Sirius was, Lily was unmoved. "I won't be 'physically or emotionally hurtful' toward him before he has a chance to speak, because I won't even give him the chance to do so in the first place!"  
  
"Bad luck, mate!" Sirius called over his shoulder and into the hallway (the compartment door was still open).  
  
"Come on, Lily! I know you want me! Go out with me, please?" James called back, but to Lily.  
  
"No!" Lily shouted through the doorway, slamming the glass door shut and charming it to be unopenable (that is, of course, until she performed the counter-curse).  
  
Potter finally decided to make an appearance and pressed his forhead against the glass, grinning at Lily. The latter, in turn, rolled her eyes and looked away.  
  
A realilsation seemed to dawn on Sirius that his friend was standing alone outside of the compartment that he, himself was locked in. "Hey, you girls are great and all," he was looking solely at Amber as he said this, "but the Marauders are the Marauders, my friends are my friends. See you at school, though! Can't wait to scare some more firsties!" He grinned mischeiviously and went to open the door (Potter had stopped pressing his face against it).  
  
"Oi, Evans, how do you unlock this thing?" he asked, prying on the door handle.  
  
Lily muttered the counter-curse and the door flew open from the force that Sirius had been applying.  
  
"Okay, thanks," he said, yet not very sincerely. He may have been nicer than James, and he may have been dating Amber, but Lily still wasn't very fond of Sirius Black – at all.

------------------------  
  
Finally, the feast was over and Lily was lying peacefully in her bed, thinking. It felt wonderful, being back at Hogwarts again. And for the second-last time...  
  
Lily didn't know what she would do after Hogwarts. This worried her, as she was normally a very organised, goal-oriented person.  
  
However, she'd taken NEWT classes for all of the main subjects that would get her a good job – as long as she did well in her NEWTs, she could become a Healer, an Auror, or she could work at the Ministry of Magic. This was just to keep her options open, as she'd discussed with Professor McGonagall during her Careers Advice meeting near the end of last year.  
  
As she pondered upon what lay outside of Hogwarts, Lily was reminded of Voldemort. She felt rather queasy knowing that it was people like her, like Mandy, that Voldemort was after. Death didn't seem like an option at the age of sixteen. Lily had been happy to be a naïve, but studious, teenager, and to leave it at that.  
  
But she knew that that was soon to change.

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**A/N: A rather short, yet painstaking chapter, written bit by bit... Actually i wrote this almost page-long thing at the beginning and decided I didnt like it and deleted the whole thing. Yeah, anyway...  
  
Time to thank my luvvly reviewers!  
  
Limbo-gal – I KNOW!! I always feel so bad for James. 'Cause we all know that he's actually a really really really really really really really great guy under the superinflatedego exterior!!! lolness... glad u liked it!  
  
Iris – Wonderful? Fabulous?!? Such words as praise for my writing are... wow!!! Lol, too much praise! But... i like it! 'cos it's not really that deadly if you drown in it... unless you're James Potter, heheh.  
  
The all mighty and powerfulM – what's Lily gonna do about what? The fact that she likes Remus? I donno, sit around randomly and do her homework. lol, that's what I would do if i liked a guy who i knew wouldnt like me back (or in Lily's case, it's dangerous if she admits her feelings...) actually, she does do something, sorta... but i won't give that away... -grins- (btw, sorry if the asterix in ur name isnt there! arg. 'tis not fun to be asterix-deprived.)  
  
Mandyzcool – aww, no long review? Ah well, glad u like it! :] HEY! Your name is like the name of Mandy-the-character-in-my-fic-who's-Lily's-best-friend! Awesome :)  
  
Fallen-snow – Funeral? I already celebrated – i mean... held – my funeral. Know why?!?! Cause u STRANGLED me in your review! -gasp- So i hadda write this WHOLE chap with your virtual hands throttling me! actually, I didn't really notice them since they were virtual, but that's okay... and um, don't kill me again, okay? Funerals for myself... are odd! =P  
  
Realmer06 – Yay, last chapter put a grin on ur face! :) wait... why?? Lol, don't bother answering that... heheh. Yeah, Lil knows she liked it whether it was James or not, but she doesn't wanna admit that. And she's kinda going like: "it was a stupid hug. Wat difference does it make... cos it was still POTTER!!! I hate him. Doesnt matter if his hugs are nice or not." Or something like that. Lol, that didn't really make any sense did it?? Oh well.  
  
Alyssa – you're not Ally341? But your reviews are very... alike. Maybe she's your lost twin and you just don't know it? heheh. Hmm, curse me? how? You should curse me so that i get 100% on my piano exam, teehee. That'd b a nice – i mean, um, horrible... – curse.  
  
Okay now for continued author's ramblings that have nothing to do with fanfics... MY PIANO EXAM IS TOMORROW. As i write this, anyway. And i have some crazy geography essay due tomorrow as well and then a math exam in the afternoon (preparation for high school i guess) and... i'm sitting here doing my fic. SEE HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU?!?! Lol. But on a happier note... our three-day band trip is this week! :D:D:D:D:D:D we're gonna hav sooooo much fun! Yahyahyah! I'll tell you more about that in my next chap update :)  
  
Okay, well i'd better work on my geography essay. I'm going to post this tomorrow, but if you're reading this, then that'd b today, or yesterday, or just... June 14th, probably. Yay, that's my sister's bday. Happy! Okay, so hope you enjoyed the chap, don't forget to review!! **


	10. Sirius' Skivvies

**Hate Everything About You  
  
Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realizes that this isn't true?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.  
  
A/N: Okay... I know it's summer and I'm supposed to update faster, but still... I only have four hours a day or so on the computer (supposedly) so I can't sit here all day... and there's too many distractions. ( I'm such a failure, lol. Well, hope you forgive me for lateness once u read the chapter!**

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Chapter Nine – Sirius' Skivvies  
  
James woke up with the sun shining through his half-drawn curtains. It was finally Saturday; two weeks after school had started. So far, those two weeks had been saturated with homework, homework, and more homework. The Marauders had been so busy that they'd had no time for anything else – not even for pranks. They hadn't merited themselves any detentions yet, either, which had to be a record for Sirius and James at the very least.  
  
The messy-haired teen sat up against his pillow. He studied his sleeping dorm-mates, stifling a yawn. First he looked to his right. Sirius was sleeping sprawled out on his stomach, and James turned away quickly after identifying a seeping puddle on his pillow of what was most likely drool.  
  
'Why do I ever bother looking in his direction if I know I'm going to turn away in disgust?' James thought, though smiling to himself.  
  
Instead he turned his attention toward Remus, on his left. There wasn't anything particularly odd about Remus' sleeping position, but James was happy to see that he looked healthy. There were less than two weeks until the next full moon, though, and there was no doubt that he would start seeming a bit sickly in a matter of days.  
  
James looked further to the left to see Peter's dark red curtains drawn tightly around his bed frame. He shrugged to himself and turned to put his glasses on. Suddenly, the world seemed much clearer. Opening his curtains in full, James stole a peek at Sirius again. 'So it _is_ his drool,' he mused.  
  
Checking his wristwatch, James discovered that it was past 10am already; time to start the day. He hauled himself out of bed, and, trying to ignore the cold that suddenly swept over him, made his way to the bathroom to take a shower.  
  
Ten minutes later, James made his way down to the common room and immediately spotted a blotch of red amidst a sea of blonde, brown, and black. He made his way over to Lily, tapped her on the shoulder, and said happily, "Hello there, love!"  
  
But the person who turned to look up at James wasn't Lily. It was a third year redhead who'd grown his hair long. The boy blinked up at James. "Excuse me?"  
  
James himself had grown rather red in the face. "I- er- sorry, my- my mistake," he sputtered before turning away. He smacked himself hard on the head. 'What. An. Idiot. How could I mistake his ugly, messy, orange hair for Lily's beautiful red locks??' James thought to himself before setting out to find the REAL Lily.  
  
Sure enough, he found her sitting with her friends, munching on some toast while completing a rather painstaking Charms essay. Deciding he didn't fancy enduring Lily's temper this early in the day, James sat himself in a chair close by, turning it so that his back was facing the girls. This way, he'd be able to silently take part in their conversation without them noticing he was there ('Not _eavesdropping,_' he told himself).  
  
"Done," Lily breathed with satisfaction in her voice. The satisfaction soon turned to dismay. "But I have to write my Transfiguration essay now!"  
  
Mandy groaned beside her. "You're that far already? I've still got Charms, Herbology, and Potions to do and I've only just finished Transfiguration!"  
  
"Well, Herbology and Potions go by quickly, and Charms is easy – at least you've finished McGonagall's _killer_ essay!"  
  
"Transfiguration isn't THAT bad," Mandy argued. "You got an 'E' on your OWL, so how hard can one simple essay be?"  
  
Lily scoffed. "Simple? Try two feet of 'agonizingly painful' and you might be relatively close to how hard it is... And I only scraped that 'E'. I would have felt lucky even to get an 'Acceptable' on the OWL," she added as an afterthought.  
  
As James listened, he grinned at how cute Lily sounded when annoyed. And what was better was that the annoyance wasn't directed at him – for once.  
  
It was at that moment that Maria Lovegood – a very pretty girl in the fifth year – chose to come and talk to James.  
  
"Why, hello, James! Sitting in the common room alone?" she questioned.  
  
James nodded and smiled. "Join me?"  
  
"Oh – of course," Maria gushed, pulling up a chair beside him. After a few moments, she began to speak, though with a trace of nervousness in her voice. "J-James, there have been a lot of boys that I've had feelings for, but n-none so much as you. So – so I was wondering if you felt the same way?" she said quickly.  
  
James thought it over. Maria was a rather nice girl – not to mention pretty – who he wouldn't mind dating. In fact, he hadn't had a good snog since sometime in early August, when he'd 'hooked up' with a girl at the Doris Pumpkin's Centre for Young Wizards, where he'd snuck into a rather uproarious teen dance. The only problem with Maria was that she had a loony for a brother – Eric Lovegood – who was a seventh year Ravenclaw. That would be alright, though – James would only have to put up with him for about a week, if at all.  
  
"Sure, I'll go out with you," James said cheerfully, knowing full well that he hadn't answered her question. "Meet me in the Entrance Hall at 10:30 next Hogsmeade weekend?"  
  
"Alright," she said, grinning shyly. "Well – I've got to go." With that, she ran off to tell all of her friends.  
  
James sighed and turned around ever-so-slightly to 'check on' Lily. He was disappointed to see that she and her friends had left. Instead, he stood up to join Remus, who had just come down from the dormitories and was standing at the foot of the stairs.  
  
"Sirius and Peter still fast asleep?" James asked as he reached his friend.  
  
Remus smiled. "Like a pair of drooling logs."  
  
James gave a small laugh. "Thought as much."  
  
"The common room seems rather full – is it after 10?" Remus asked. He'd lost his wristwatch over the summer, and therefore had limited time sense.  
  
"Yes, breakfast's already over. Let's head down to the kitchens to grab a bite, shall we?"  
  
"Well – I don't know. I might skip breakfast and do my homework instead." But a growling noise heard from Remus' stomach gave him away.  
  
James grinned. "Come on. Shall I get the Map?"  
  
"Alright," Remus obliged. James knew how much he hated to procrastinate.  
  
The two boys made it to the kitchens without incident fifteen minutes later. They always took the Marauders' Map with them when they went to the kitchens, just in case, since they weren't supposed to know where they were.  
  
A doorknob appeared as James tickled the pear, and he quickly opened the door to let himself and Remus inside.  
  
As soon as they closed the door, a small crowd of house elves came over to them, beaming. Some were still in the process of washing the dishes from breakfast. A few dirty plates still sat at the furthest table, not yet washed. Otherwise, all was clean – the house elves worked quickly.  
  
"Did you miss breakfast, Mr. Potter?" said a house elf.  
  
"Is Mr. Lupin feeling hungry?" asked another.  
  
James grinned. "How about some breakfast, mates?"  
  
Immediately, the two were ushered over to one of the long tables positioned directly under their counterparts in the Great Hall above. Soon, despite the fact that breakfast was over, plates of bacon, eggs, toast, and pancakes were brought their way.  
  
They'd been eating for but five minutes when Sirius showed up, slipping off James' invisibility cloak. He didn't have as many house elves swarm him because most were tending to James and Remus' immense hunger, but quite a few went up to him nonetheless.  
  
He shooed them a bit before coming to sit down across from James.  
  
"I knew you were here," he said, grinning.  
  
"We knew you would come here," Remus said in turn.  
  
Sirius began wolfing down pancakes, having been given a plate.  
  
"I see you're eating quite well, Moony," he acknowledged between mouthfuls.  
  
Remus nodded.  
  
"But in two days' time he'll start picking at his food again," James managed to say with his mouth full of eggs.  
  
"I don't feel like eating during the week before the full moon," Remus defended himself. "I start to feel sick if I eat too much."  
  
The boys never worried about the house elves overhearing their conversations; they wouldn't spread the word or treat Remus any differently. This kind of information seemed to go in one bat-like ear, and out the other.  
  
"Too much being half of what's good for you," James challenged after swallowing.  
  
"Come on, Moony, haven't we told you this before? The less you eat, the hungrier the werewolf will be," Sirius warned in a singsong voice.  
  
Remus choked on his pumpkin juice at this statement; it was how he reacted each time Sirius sang it out. "Alright, alright, I'll make sure I eat all week this time. Just – let's not talk about this anymore, alright?"  
  
His friends nodded and they finished their breakfast in silence.  
  
Finally finished, James gave a satisfied sigh. He leaned back in his chair, only to realize that he was sitting on a small stool and managed to grab on to the edge of the table before toppling over.  
  
Glaring at Sirius, who was snickering at him, James tried to think of something to say to avert his attention. "Hmm, how about a prank?"  
  
Sirius stopped laughing. "What?"  
  
"A prank. We've been sitting ducks for these past two weeks; isn't it time to get back into action?"  
  
Remus couldn't help but grin. "I'm up for it."  
  
"Me too!" Sirius announced eagerly.  
  
"Really, Padfoot? I thought you'd _never_ agree!" James exclaimed sarcastically.  
  
Sirius decided to ignore this last statement. "So, what'll the prank be, then?"  
  
"Dunno."  
  
Remus grinned. "Fancy going around naked, Sirius?"  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
James and Remus were tucked away under the invisibility cloak and behind a suit of armor in the Entrance Hall. Sirius glared in their direction to stop their snickering. They must have been looking at him and shut up immediately.  
  
Sirius sighed. Here he was, standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall, naked save for the two textbooks he'd pressed against himself to cover his private parts. He had to admit, he felt rather foolish, even a tad embarrassed, but he knew it was worth it.  
  
He backed against the wall as he heard the expected Slytherins coming nearer. The whole prank was expertly timed, with the help of the Marauders' Map. Once they were about to come through, Sirius would round the corner and... do what he had to do.  
  
Finally, the crowd of about a half dozen Slytherins approached the Entrance Hall and Sirius went into action. He ran full-blast around the corner and into the corridor they'd been strolling along and began to scream.  
  
"HELP! HELP! SNAPE STOLE MY CLOTHES AND NOW HE'S CHASING AFTER ME! HE'S GOING TO _RAPE ME_!"  
  
The Slytherins were dumbfounded and stopped walking. He ran straight past them, turned around, and passed them again, yelling the same thing.  
  
"HE'S GOING TO RAPE ME! HE'S GOING TO RAPE ME!" he repeated as he began running in circles in front of them.  
  
He thought he heard Remus and James walking to the end of the hallway in which he had entered. Quickly glancing back, he did not see the empty Entrance Hall and corridor that he had expected – there was Snape, standing just in the Entrance Hall, fuming.  
  
Sirius grinned to himself and ran over to Snape instead.  
  
"PLEASE DON'T RAPE ME! PLEASE! AND GIVE ME BACK MY CLOTHES!"  
  
Snape just glared at him.  
  
"AT LEAST MY SKIVVIES!"  
  
His eyebrows raised in disgust, Snape seemed particularly repelled by the thought of handling Sirius' underwear. The look of surprise disappeared and his face hardened as he opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Black! Explain yourself!" shrilled a voice that wasn't Snape's.  
  
Sirius looked past his rival to see none other than Professor McGonagall.  
  
He was so shocked that he nearly dropped the two textbooks, which would _**not**_ have been a good occurrence. Sirius only managed to stutter. "I – uh – skivvies... eh –"  
  
McGonagall flicked her wand and Sirius was fully clothed; no textbooks, either.  
  
"That was absolutely unacceptable. Students must be fully clothed outside of their dormitories and bathrooms at all times. Ten points from Gryffindor."  
  
Sirius nodded solemnly, but then grinned. "Hey – no detention!"  
  
"I wasn't finished yet," the professor said pointedly. "As I recall, I assigned my sixth years some rather consuming Transfiguration homework, and I am surprised as to why you are wasting your Saturday fooling around in the nude as opposed to getting your work done. That being said, you now have detention for each next Saturday up until Halloween, seeing as you have nothing better to do that day of the week anyway."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Sirius saluted. He didn't really mind getting detention; especially since he was going for the school record.  
  
McGonagall just gave him a stern look and walked away after ushering the Slytherin bystanders along.  
  
Snape was still there, though. "Rather tasteless, Black," he said icily.  
  
Sirius smirked. "Not as tasteless as your choice of shampoo."  
  
"How would you know what shampoo I use?" Snape challenged.  
  
"I wouldn't, but I can tell that it's bad quality by the state that your hair's in," Sirius shot back.  
  
Snape raised his wand but seemed to think the better of it. Instead, he turned around and stalked across the Entrance Hall and toward the library, his robes billowing behind him.  
  
It was at that moment that James and Remus finally decided to reemerge. When they did, they doubled over with laughter.  
  
"That was good, mate!" James said, gasping for breath.  
  
Sirius grinned. "Not just good, Prongs, that was _classic_!"  
  
"Too bad about detention, though," said Remus.  
  
"No, we're going for the record," Sirius and James said simultaneously.  
  
"Only one hundred twenty-seven more to go!" Sirius added.  
  
Remus smiled. "I thought you'd given that up in fourth year."  
  
Gasping, Sirius said proudly, "We mischief-makers never give up! Especially not if it's breaking detention records that we're talking about!"  
  
"Alright, let's go back up to the common room. And no more fooling around, Padfoot," James mock-scolded.  
  
Sirius glared playfully. "Just make sure Moony doesn't make me run around with two Charms textbooks squashing my –"  
  
"We get it, Padfoot," James said, wincing, before Sirius had the chance to finish his sentence.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
Lily sighed. She had finally finished her Transfiguration essay and her hunger was catching up.  
  
"Mandy, Alice," she said to her friends, who were working on their respective beds, "I'm going to go down to lunch and bring up some food for you, alright?"  
  
Alice looked up in disbelief. "You've finished?"  
  
"I_ told_ you that the Transfiguration essay was easy," Mandy said pointedly.  
  
"I got to work faster once we moved back up to the dormitory; it's much easier to concentrate here. If we were still in the common room, I wouldn't have been halfway done yet."  
  
"Well, I'm not done my Potions work yet," Mandy defended.  
  
"That's because you and Alice were talking the whole time!"  
  
"You were talking too!"  
  
"But I was writing at the same time!"  
  
"That's not physically possible."  
  
"Sure it is; it's called multitasking."  
  
Alice sighed. "Can you girls _please_ be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate."  
  
"Oh, alright," Lily grinned.  
  
"I would have won that argument, and you know it," Mandy joked.  
  
Lily just stuck out her tongue and headed downstairs.  
  
"Lily!" someone called out as she reached the foot of the staircase.  
  
Looking around the half-empty common room, Lily spotted Amber.  
  
"Hi... I thought you were with Sirius?"  
  
Amber shrugged. "I couldn't find him; I even checked in the kitchens and he wasn't there."  
  
"He's probably up to some trouble again," Lily said not-so-fondly.  
  
"I don't see why you don't like Sirius, Lils. He's a great bloke."  
  
Lily smiled. "Maybe to you he is, but to me... you've seen him. Remember when we were coming on the train?"  
  
"I suppose you're right. That's the thing with Sirius. You can be on his good side or his bad side or somewhere in between..."  
  
There was a brief hush in which all that could be heard was soft chatter and the scraping of quills. Lily noticed that Peter was sitting at a desk nearby, but the rest of the Marauders were nowhere to be seen.  
  
As if responding to Lily's thoughts, the portrait hole opened and in came Sirius, Remus, and Potter, all laughing like mad.  
  
Amber turned, saw Sirius, and went over to him. Lily dragged along behind her, having forgotten that she was supposed to be getting lunch for herself and her friends.  
  
The boys' laughing died down and Sirius greeted Amber with a kiss.  
  
Once they broke apart, a rather flustered Amber asked, "Where have you been all day, Sirius?"  
  
"Getting detention," he grinned.  
  
"What? Already?"  
  
"No, love, this detention was long overdue. Two weeks into the school year and we still hadn't caused any mayhem... until today!"  
  
Amber rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Alright, what did you do?"  
  
Sirius seemed to have been waiting for this. His face brightened up and James and Remus, still standing on each side of him, looked on the verge of hysterics.  
  
He took a deep breath before launching into his story.  
  
"James and Remus and I were happily enjoying our scrumptious breakfast down at the kitchens when we decided that it was time to get out of our school work daze and get back to being the true Marauders. So as we thought over the prospect of a prank, Remus asked if I fancied going around wearing..." there was a pause, "nothing!"  
  
Amber laughed. "What?! Nothing? Not even your skivvies?"  
  
"No, love, not even my skivvies," Sirius said dramatically. Lily smirked.  
  
"Now that my wardrobe for the prank had been decided," Sirius continued after awhile, "we had to agree upon what the prank was going to be in the first place. And finally, we decided."  
  
"And...?" Amber prompted as her boyfriend had stopped talking altogether.  
  
Lily waited for him to continue; she was interested in spite of herself as to what these idiots (save Remus of course) had come up with. She reminded herself that it was, in fact, Remus who had suggested that Sirius go around naked. Maybe he wasn't as innocent as he seemed.  
  
Finally, Sirius began to talk again. Lily noticed that he had grabbed the attention of everyone in the common room.  
  
"And I ran right up to some Slytherins, naked save for the two textbooks I was using to hide my privates, and started to yell 'HELP! SNAPE STOLE MY CLOTHES AND NOW HE'S GOING TO RAPE ME!' They were so confused that they stood there, their cake-holes wide open, with no idea what was going on! And then guess who showed up?"  
  
"Who?" Amber supplied.  
  
"Snape! And you know what I said to him? I said, 'PLEASE DON'T RAPE ME! GIVE ME BACK MY CLOTHES!' and when he didn't answer I yelled out, 'AT LEAST MY SKIVVIES!' and he looked as though I'd just asked him to kiss me!"  
  
Amber was doubled over in laughter. "So then what happened?"  
  
"Then McGonagall came!" Remus suddenly called out.  
  
"And she flicked her wand and his clothes were back! And then she said 'you're not allowed to be naked anywhere besides your dormitory and bathroom!'" James laughed.  
  
Sirius grinned. "Something like that, yes. She took ten points off of Gryffindor but then she went on about wasting my Saturdays so she gave me Saturday detentions until Halloween."  
  
Amber stopped laughing. "What? Halloween?"  
  
"Yes, what's wrong with Halloween?"  
  
"There's a Hogsmeade weekend on the Saturday before Halloween."  
  
"So?" Sirius couldn't see what Amber was leading up to. Lily knew though, and this wasn't going to be pretty.  
  
"I thought we were going on a date that Saturday!"  
  
Sirius thought for a bit. "Right! Oops."  
  
Amber looked at her boyfriend as though he were insane. "Oops? What do you mean, oops?"  
  
"Oops, I forgot?"  
  
"And why not, 'Oops, I shouldn't have gone out and got detention before remembering that I have a date to attend to?'"  
  
"But that detention was worth it! You should have seen the look on Snape's face!"  
  
"THIS ISN'T ABOUT SNAPE! It's about the fact that you care more about breaking that stupid detention record than you do about me!"  
  
"Well, I have been attempting to break that record for a lot longer than I've been going out with you," Sirius said, but seemed to realize his mistake.  
  
"Really? Then I suppose that your friends mean nothing to you either, compared to the next big prank you've got planned!" Amber shrilled.  
  
"No, my friends are different! They're like my brothers!"  
  
"AND WHAT ABOUT ME?" she yelled.  
  
"You're my girlfriend," Sirius said simply, though his voice was raised a notch.  
  
"Well maybe I don't want to be your girlfriend if I mean so little to you!"  
  
With that, Amber ran up the stairs, toward the sixth year girls' dormitory.  
  
"Did she just break up with me?" Sirius asked, dumbfounded.  
  
James patted his shoulder. "She said maybe, mate. You two are still together. Why don't you just go give her a snog and –"  
  
"Potter!" Lily bellowed suddenly. "What is your _problem_? And yours, Black! Even if that detention record _does_ mean more to you than Amber does, that was an extremely stupid thing to say! You had better apologise to her, or I'm going to – I'm going to – Oh, I don't know WHAT I'm going to do, but you rest assured that it won't be a pleasant experience!"  
  
Like her friend, Lily stormed up the stairs without a backward glance, oblivious to the stares of her house-mates. She had known that Sirius wasn't good enough for Amber.  
  
"Skivvies!" she heard Sirius swear as she climbed back to her dormitory.

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**A/N: -pantpant- YAY! I finally finished... wow. Well, good thing I managed to post this before leaving on my vacation. I'm getting back at the end of the month, but I promise to update before the beginning of school! (which is September 7th for me, haha.)  
  
By the way, you _mustmustmust_ read Unshaven and on the Loose, a collaboration parody of PoA that was written by none other then MOI and Itami Kitsune!! :D it's on her account... go there and yah. :]  
  
I wrote the prologue and she's currently writing chapter one... I'll give you updates on that each time I update, and maybe give updates on Hate Everything About You everytime I update on UaotL x3  
  
Speaking of updates, I promised to tell u guyz how my band trip went. In a word, it was AWESOME. But it was long ago so yeah. I'll tell you how my 11- day vacation went in my next update, lol. xP  
  
NOW, finally, what you've all been waiting for, I getta thank the reviewers! :)  
  
MooKittee: How's this for short? 12 pages on Word NOT counting these review- replies which'll prolly make it 14 =P Hope u fixed that overflowing toilet bowl, btw. :)  
  
Animalluvr75: yay! I'm so glad you like it! –hug- sorry it was short.  
  
Jill: Lol, thanks!! Nice description there. And accurate as per _my_ description! –grins-  
  
Chomeister: Lolz, u feel like an individualist wen u read my story? W00t! haha. U betcha that ur cool! :]  
  
Limbo-gal: I just realized that there is absolutely NO Lily-James action in this chapter. Bug me for some and I'll giv it 2 ya, k? –winkwink- thx for reviewing!  
  
Amandinka: aww, sry, I suck at updating 'soon'. I'm a weirdo. --;  
  
Luvsirius: quite a few reviews from u... lemme just read em... sorry about the A/Ns and the typos; im currently re-editing. And also... the muggle world is /supposed/ to be like... present-day, even tho the wizarding world is a generation back. But I decided 'okay not only does that confuse everyone, its stupid and pointless and doesn't contribute to the story and only makes the writing less good' so im gunna take that out while I re-edit as well. :] thx for reviewing and im glad u like it!!! :)  
  
Kristi: yeah, longer. –grins- wen I asked if they were 2 long way back when, I was an n00b. now I know what's short and whats not... xD and yes. Last chapter WAS too short.  
  
Mia: Hey! So glad you like my story. Yeah, sorry about the author's notes and the slang and all that other... sucky writing xP I'm re-editing previous chapters rite now actually cause I seriously decided I need to fix it.  
  
Realmer06: teehee, nice review, lol. U like the twist? Thx. Makes her more like Harry, haha. Poor Harry... doesn't kno what on earth is going on... -sigh- J. K. Rowling is too good.  
  
Polarberry: yay, lol! –shudders- coffee??!? Come on Cathy. Coffee is g-r-o- s-s. drink ICED CAPS! xDDDDDD  
  
Joe: It wasn't supposed to make sense. I don't make sense. –grins- lily gives in during seventh year... remember? In OotP... yeah. And James isn't pathetic! He rox! :D  
  
Jessiquie: thanks for all that praise! I really really appreciate it! xD just teasing. :]  
  
The all mighty and powerfulM: Lol, thx bout the exam-luckness. The math exam wasn't all that important... its just preparation for grade nine. 77/80 on it tho x3. but I didn't do so well on my piano exam... but then again I am Tani the Super Perfectionist who gets mad when she gets bad marks. =)  
  
Angel: thanks, glad you like it! Arr... hope my update was soon enough.... –hangs head in shame of her slowness-  
  
Pammi: well Voldie's murdered some ppl... he's a known criminal. But no1's gotten really scared of him yet... you'll c. –mohahaha-  
  
Sw33tdr3am3r: wow cheese, ur name is annoying to type cos of all the 3s in it. --; yes... submit review button... -mmhmm I get it...-... -not- lol  
  
Itami Kitsune: lol, itami... let remus be yours later on, okay? I'll tell you when he becomes yours as long as you keep reviewing so I can keep replying to your reviews, lol.  
  
Starrydreams: HI HONGYI!!! Yay its faboulously FABULOUS? –gasp- lol... I cant use all four hours on my fic...... u know how it is with writer's block and lack of inspiration and downright laziness... comon!! Lol. –goes to play bubble struggle- xD  
  
Okay so thanks everybody for reviewing!!! Im past 75!!!! So happy! :D:D:D:D:D  
  
And keep those reviews coming? Plz? U know u want tooooooooooooooo.... Yay!  
  
Hmm... a special treat for my 100th reviewer! Prolly wont b for this chap but yeah... and I guess u get 2 choose ur treat. Lol, if I know you like, in person, ur treat can be more treat-ish (lol)... but for those I don't know... I can use ur name and/or personality for one of the minor characters? lol or dedicate a chapter to you... aww, sorry, I suck at giving rewards. --;; if u think ur the 100th reviewer and u want a treat then leave ur email, oki? then no matter HOW slow my updating is, u can still get something. xP  
  
oh and before I leave... SKIVVIES was a word I picked up on a British Slang website that means underwear. Hope you got that while reading. I love that word, lol. If I'm using British slang incorrectly or using Canadian/American slang too much, don't hesitate to tell me!  
  
Okay, have a good summer everyone! 'Till next time! **


	11. Collective Detention

**Hate Everything About You**

**Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realizes that this isn't true?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. Basically, I own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.**

**A/N: Hi everyone! School's almost here, and I updated, just like I promised!! Glad you all thought last chapter was funny. xD anyway, I'll talk later. For now... enjoy le chap!**

* * *

Chapter Ten – Collective Detention

With Mandy at Quidditch practice and her other friends finished their lesser amounts of homework, Lily found herself at the library, hoping to finish off her Arithmancy paper. She saw Remus sitting at a nearby table and, hesitatingly, joined him.

"Hi," he said warmly, looking up from his work.

"Hello," Lily responded shyly.

"What are you working on?" she asked out of curiousity.

Remus tapped the parchment in front of him. "Binns' essay. You'd think with such a dull class he's leading that the material would be dull as well, but I find it rather interesting."

"Yes," Lily agreed, "in NEWT classes everything seems to get more interesting. I'm not taking History of Magic, though."

"I noticed," Remus grinned. "There are so little people taking his NEWT class that they just put all of the houses together, and even so there are only 12 sixth year students."

"That's still quite a lot – three students per house! But I suppose they're the ones who fancy dozing off in class."

Remus pouted, imitating Sirius rather well. "Hey – what about me?"

Laughing, Lily said, "Well, maybe you're the only one who actually goes for the academic value."

"And for the class discussions," Remus added jokingly.

Lily smiled. Remus was so... perfect. So nice, funny, serious; a thinker, yet friendly. She still didn't understand why he would possibly choose to be friends with Potter and Black.

"Remus, I –" she began, but found the words stuck in her throat.

"Yes, Lily?" he asked innocently.

What was she supposed to do? Confess her love for him...?

"I need some help with my Arithmancy," she covered sloppily. So what if she knew all of the answers already?

"Of course, why didn't you just say so?" Remus grinned. "But I would never have expected you to ask for help in Arithmancy. What is it you need help with?"

Lily frowned in thought. "Here, let me see –" She took out her paper and laid it on the table, ready to feign confusion.

* * *

"Since we have finished our reviewing of Animal Transfiguration, today I will begin to teach you about the challenging subject around which most of my NEWT class revolves – Human Transfiguration."

The classroom seemed to buzz with excitement at Professor McGonagall's announcement.

"But for the rest of the term, you will only be learning theory."

A collective groan was the response. Human Transfiguration would be the highlight of seven years' worth of toiling for McGonagall and now they had to wait out the term until they could begin in full. 'But what are three months to over five years?' Lily thought, 'At least we get to begin in January.'

Professor McGonagall began the lesson and Lily tried hard to look over Potter's head. He always sat in front of her during Transfiguration and, for once, had chosen to sit up straight in his chair. Naturally, this posed a problem for Lily, who, when standing, only reached about the bridge of James' nose. She'd noticed that it didn't give her much of an advantage when she was yelling at him.

She finally found that sitting with her legs folded underneath her gave her enough extra height to see just above that infuriating mop of messy black hair. Now she could see McGonagall and found herself concentrating much better on what the Professor was saying.

Her concentration didn't last for long, though, because James began turning around to grin at her. Lily responded with a glare each time, thinking, 'Transfiguration is the ONE class in which I really, desperately need to concentrate. Why can't he bother me during History of Magic instead?' She was glad she hadn't said that out loud, because, she realized, Potter would surely have decided to annoy her tenfold during that class. Then she remembered that she didn't take History of Magic anymore. This was what happened when James Potter began distracting her during a class in which he usually paid attention.

After turning to grin at her for possibly the tenth time in three minutes, Potter leant over his desk and began scribbling notes. 'Finally,' Lily thought, 'he remembered that he's at _school_.' She settled into concentration again, but was rudely interrupted when a square of scrap parchment appeared on her desk.

'_Will you go out with me?'_ it read in James' neat writing.

Lily glared and reached for her quill. She scribbled the word 'NO' overtop of his written request, filling up the whole parchment with the two letters. Then she left the note on her desk, upside-down so that Potter could read it when he turned around.

Surely enough, he did so, but only grinned at her, took the parchment, and began to write on the other side so that Lily could see each letter clearly.

'_You know you love me, Evans. Perhaps if-' _At this point, Lily lunged over her desk to grab the parchment, pushing back her chair as she did so. She landed on her desk, flat on her stomach, but with the note clasped in her hand.

Oblivious to her classmates' stares, she sat back down, quickly smoothed out the parchment, and Vanished the ink on both sides. She looked up to find Professor McGonagall staring at her and her eyes widened in embarrassment.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Miss Evans?" Her gaze was stern and her lips were tight. It was a rare occasion for McGonagall to get mad at her best student – or rather, her best-behaving student.

Lily smiled sheepishly. "N-no, Professor. Nothing, sorry." She mentally smacked herself for losing her cool.

Potter's head was down and his shoulders were shaking; was he laughing at her? Lily would have glared if it weren't for McGonagall staring her down.

"What is that on your desk, then, Miss Evans?"

"Just a scrap of parchment," Lily covered. Technically, it wasn't a lie, because it _was_ a scrap piece of parchment. She just didn't bother to explain that it had been written on and belonged to James Potter.

McGonagall nodded. "May I see it?" She held out a hand.

Lily was reminded of Potter and his obnoxious (though silent) laughter. "Of course, Professor. It was actually Po – er, James, here, who lent me it."

She gave McGonagall the parchment and watched as the latter muttered an incantation to make the ink reappear. Both Lily and James watched as the Professor read it carefully, on both sides, then looked up again.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, may I see you at the end of class?"

They both nodded their heads slowly, knowing that no wasn't an option.

"And five points from Gryffindor for the disturbance," she added. "Now, Human Transfiguration..."

Lily cautiously approached Professor McGonagall's desk after the bell had rung. Potter took awhile longer to put his things back into his bag, but joined her once he'd finished.

"I would like to remind the both of you that note-passing during class is unacceptable," McGonagall said, looking up from a pile of essays she'd been marking, "as is disrupting the class in any way."

"Yes, Professor," Lily said quietly, though Potter just stood there, smirking.

McGonagall continued her short lecture. "The note in question was also very inappropriate, as I was teaching about Human Transfiguration, not giving dating lessons. I trust that the both of you are very aware of the 'no body contact' rule," she added, staring pointedly at James, "and that you heed it. You shall both be serving detentions tomorrow night. _Separate _detentions."

At this, James' face fell. Lily smirked; at least she wouldn't have to spend her first-ever detention with Potter.

"Meet me in my office after dinner tomorrow and I will assign you your punishments. You may leave."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief and left the classroom as fast as possible. She reached the Great Hall for dinner not long after and sat down between Mandy and Alice.

"Quite a show you put on, Lily," Mandy joked through a mouthful of steak.

"So?" Alice questioned. "What did McGonagall say?"

Lily shrugged. "Detention tomorrow night." She wondered to herself why she was so nonchalant about it as she started piling her plate with food. When she reached over for the pumpkin juice, she spotted Amber sitting several seats down, glaring at her mashed potatoes.

"Amber's still angry at Sirius?" she questioned disbelievingly.

Mandy nodded. "You'd think that she'd get over it after three weeks of pretending he doesn't exist."

"You'd think Black would have apologized," Lily scowled. "Maybe we'll have to take out our list from last year: Ways to Get Revenge on Sirius Black."

Alice frowned and said, "Are you really going to get 'revenge' on him? Some of the things on that list were rather gory, inappropriate, and more than enough to get us expelled."

"Like setting a Blast-Ended Skrewt on him?" Mandy grinned. "Alice, you know most of them are jokes."

"Yeah, I was just making sure."

"Oh, Lily," Mandy said, "Is your detention tomorrow night going to be with Potter?"

"No, no, we're serving separate detentions, thank goodness," Lily explained.

* * *

Back in her office and not feeling hungry for dinner, Minerva McGonagall considered the detentions she'd just given out to Evans and Potter. Separate detentions would most definitely get things done faster for each of them, no matter the task, but she couldn't help thinking. To Potter this was just another detention, and he was bound to get himself into another one by the end of the week.

But Lily Evans... Never before had she been given a detention, and the Professor thought it wise not to let her take detention too lightly. Otherwise, Evans could begin slacking off after realizing that her punishment would not be too dire. No, for both the teachers' and for Lily's sake, McGonagall had to ensure that Miss Evans would _not_ enjoy her detention in the least. That left one option.

Lily Evans and James Potter would have to serve detention together.

* * *

Lily trudged to Professor McGonagall's office after dinner the next day. By now, the fact had hit her in full force – she had gotten a detention.

A detention, for goodness' sake! Not something that Lily Evans should have been receiving. But there she was, about to serve her first for being stupid enough to pay Potter any attention during Transfiguration.

She hoped it wouldn't be too labourious.

Reaching McGonagall's office, Lily knocked hesitantly on the door.

"Come in," she heard McGonagall call from inside.

She opened the door to see the Professor at her desk and Potter slouching in a chair facing it. Lily took a seat in the chair beside the boy and looked up at Professor McGonagall to await her punishment.

"There has been a slight... change of plans," McGonagall began, "So I am forced to assign you a collective detention."

"Pardon?" Lily said, not believing her ears.

"You will be serving detention together."

Potter looked as though Christmas had come early and Lily scowled angrily.

"Is there no way we can serve our detentions individually?" Lily asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," McGonagall said, appearing sympathetic.

James grinned. "So what will our detention be?"

"Ah, yes. Your punishment will be to polish the frames of the portraits all along the fifth-floor corridor without using any magic. You will find the correct materials waiting for you, as well as a stepladder to reach the tops of taller frames. You have from now until midnight to finish and may leave at your discretion. If our caretaker, Mr. Pringle, finds that the frames have not been cleaned sufficiently, you will serve another detention tomorrow night to finish the job, so I suggest that you get it done well tonight instead."

Lily nodded and stood up to leave, as did Potter.

"And Miss Evans?"

"Yes, Professor?" Lily said, turning back to face McGonagall.

"See to it that you don't get yourself in any other detentions any time soon."

"Of course, Professor."

The two reached the fifth-floor corridor in silence, aside from Potter's random attempts at asking Lily out, with the latter declining as curtly as possible.

It was right then, when they saw their materials, that they realized that there was a problem.

"There's only one stepladder," Lily said blankly.

"We'll have to share, I guess."

"_Share?_ With you? No thank you. I take the stepladder."

"Why?" James protested.

"Because you're tall and I'm shorter than you." It made sense, after all.

"Or I can take the stepladder. That way I do the tops of the frames and you do the bottoms. Or the other way around, if you like. Either way, I've got a nice view."

Lily sputtered at his intended meaning. "What? You perverted little –" She decided not to finish her sentence and kicked the stepladder toward him.

"I do as much of the frame as I can reach, and once I move on to the next one, you polish off the top," she instructed and set out to do her work. "And don't mess it up," she added. His mistake could cause her another night of frame-polishing.

The portraits purposely ignored both Lily and James because they knew that the two students were serving detention. Thus, the hallway was silent as the teenagers polished away without a word.

Two hours later, they were nearly done one side of the hallway. If they kept it up, they would be finished before eleven. Lily sighed as she moved on to the last painting before they switched over to the other side.

"Took you long enough," James mumbled.

"What did you say, Potter?" Lily challenged, having heard what he'd said.

"Nothing."

"If I may inform you, Potter, I'm the one who's polishing more of the frames than you are. You just have to do the very top, and I'm doing all the rest!"

"Well, maybe if you only polished half, then I'd be doing my fair share of work without standing around, waiting for you to finish." He crossed his arms, still holding a polishing rag in one hand.

"Whatever," Lily mumbled and began her work on the last frame, this time only polishing it halfway up.

Half an hour and a few frames later, Lily was still toiling away on her knees. Suddenly she noticed the silence to her left. She turned her head to see why Potter had stopped working, only to see him standing on the stepladder, staring at her.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked in annoyance.

Potter stepped down to the ground, still staring at her. He seemed completely oblivious to her question as he asked dreamily, "Will you go out with me?"

Lily stared at him for a few moments, thinking he'd gone insane for real this time, and turned back to her work.

"Will you go out with me?" he repeated a few moments later, his voice returned to normal. It didn't sound egotistic, though, which was a nice change.

But Lily continued to ignore him as he repeated the question yet again.

"Is that a yes?" he asked when she wouldn't answer, sounding cocky all over again.

"It is a no," Lily said flatly without even looking up.

James persisted. "Why not?"

"Because I hate you and you're a bigheaded prat." Lily was too tired to be angry.

"Just go out with me, Evans!"

Okay, maybe she wasn't.

"NO, Potter, I won't!" she said, standing up.

"Well why not?"

"I already told you why not!"

"Why not?" he repeated.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I said so!" It was a very childish game to play, but Lily didn't find that she cared.

"THAT'S NOT A GOOD ENOUGH REASON!" Potter yelled. Lily jumped at the sudden rise in his volume.

If he could raise his voice, so could she. "FINE! MAYBE I FANCY SOMEONE ELSE THEN! IS THAT A GOOD ENOUGH REASON?"

"You fancy somebody else? LIKE WHO? That bloke who's better cooked than me?!"

Lily scoffed at his reference to their – disagreement – at the train station over a month ago.

"I don't want to talk about this. I shouldn't have mentioned it," she said coldly.

"Well I want to talk about it," James persisted.

Lily checked her watch. "It is nine-thirty. We have possibly an hour and a half's work left and I have homework to do, so will you please SHUT UP?"

"Who is it that you fancy?"

"Why would you like to know?"

Potter narrowed his eyes. "I'll hex him until he's so disfigured you won't even recognize who he is."

Lily started at the threat at Remus, but remembered that he was one of Potter's best friends. Even if he knew, he wouldn't hex him – would he?

"You won't be hexing him anytime soon, believe me," Lily fumed.

"Why no –" he began, but suddenly seemed to cool down. "You're right. I won't be."

With that, he turned around, climbed back up the stepladder, and continued to polish a golden frame.

Lily was feeling confused and riled-up enough to challenge him to get back down and continue the fight, but her senses caught up to her just before she did anything stupid.

She turned back to her own work and not another word was said that night between Lily Evans and James Potter.

* * *

"I have it," James announced the next day, coming into the Library where Remus was working with Peter.

Remus looked up from his work. "What do you have?"

"A plan," his friend said. He sounded serious; this surely wouldn't be a plan for a prank.

"Well sit down, then, and tell us your plan," Peter suggested.

Both James and Remus shook their heads.

"Padfoot isn't here," James said, voicing Remus' thought.

"To the dormitory then?" he asked.

James nodded and ten minutes later, the Marauders were seated on James' and Sirius' beds to discuss 'the plan'.

"You want me to WHAT?" Remus exclaimed in disbelief.

James fidgeted beside him. "It's simple, Moony. Lily fancies you –"

"- or so we think," Remus interjected.

"Moony, you _know_ Lily likes you. Don't deny it," Sirius grinned from his bed.

"But still..."

"It's simple," James repeated, "All you've got to do is take some Polyjuice Potion and turn into me, talk to Lily for awhile, and voila! I've got my date."

"Prongs, it is NOT simple. Not only will the potion take a month to brew, it's very risky to take and has some _serious_ side effects."

Peter nodded, James frowned, and Sirius seemed thoughtful. After all, the book containing the Polyjuice Potion's recipe was in the Restricted Section of the Library.

"Think about how Lily would feel," Remus continued, "if she found out that the person she said 'yes' to was not you, but one of your best friends? And that's only if this plan succeeds, which I'm hardly convinced it will."

"Yeah, mate," Sirius agreed, coming out of his daze, "Wouldn't you rather her fall in love with you and not Moony?"

"I don't _care_. Once I can convince her – or Moony can convince her – to go out with me, she'll see what a great bloke I am, and she'll fall for the _real_ me instead."

This plan was sure to fail. Remus really didn't want to hurt Lily; she was a nice person and a friend. But he wanted to hurt James even less, so there was only one choice left.

"Alright, Prongs, I'll do it for you. But if Lily murders you in your sleep, you only have yourself to blame," Remus warned.

"I take all of the blame for any consequences if the plan fails," James grinned, "Which it won't."

'We'll see about that,' Remus thought wearily. He had a bad feeling about this.

"We have to make sure that you won't be convincing Lily to go out with Prongs on the night of the full moon, though," Peter said.

"Right you are, Wormtail," James agreed.

Remus considered. "The full moon is a couple of days before Halloween this month. By the time the first week of November comes around, I'll be feeling much better."

Suddenly, Remus thought of yet another reason why James' plan would be impossible. If Lily hated James, how was he supposed to make her fall for him while pretending to be the person she despised?

"Prongs," he began, "how do I convince Lily to go out with you if she doesn't exactly get along with you under normal circumstances?"

"Get her to fall for your charm!" Sirius supplied.

"I dunno if I can do that."

James smiled at his friend. "You've already done it once. Why else would I have asked you to do this for me?"

"Because you live to make my life miserable?" he joked.

"As long as your full moons aren't miserable," James smiled again.

And with that simple statement, Remus was completely won over. After what his friends did for him each month, how could he not help James in his one time of need?

He was going to break at least ten school rules and maybe break one girl's heart, but no matter what happened, nothing would stop him from helping out one of his best friends in the whole entire world.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dun... will the plan work? Or will it get squashed to the ground? You'll have to wait and see... ;)**

**sorry sorry sorry about the annoying lines. wouldnt lemme use hyphons or dots or anything so i had to use those. :(**

**As it says on my profile, I'm currently in the process of _editing my fic_ so that a lot of things make sense... read my profile for more details. :)**

**AND I now command you to go over to Itami Kitsune's account and read our AWESOME TOTALLY COOL Collaboration Parody of PoA: Unshaven and on the Loose. :P it's only got two chapters so far, and I'm –supposed- to be writing the third one... It's really funny and stoof... props to Itami for getting the idea! xD**

**ALSO read An Owl at the Window, by Ellaris. She's a friend of mine as well and just started out. She'd really appreciate it! :) Actually, my 'might-never-get-posted' LotR parody is dedicated to her! Heheh.**

**Sorry that I talk so much. I'm almost done, I promise, and THEN I'll thank my reviewers. :P I actually have two ideas for novels and might start an Artemis Fowl fic in addition to HEAY and the two aforementioned fics –points to previous paragraphs- and yes. E-mail me for more info if u want some? Lol although I wouldn't know why. xD I'd luff you for it anyway.**

**Review-thanking time!!**

**Itami Kitsune: Haha, skivvies. Gotta love 'em. oO; sry I haven't started chap 3 of UaotL yet. Heheh...**

**Tirtreaton: Glad you like it! :]**

**Starrydreams: AND NOW I UPDATED AGAIN! Guess what that means... xDDD**

**Writergirl709: Hope that was enough frum Remus for you. As you can see, he'll have a more important role in the nxt chapters but for this chap I had to focus on some Lily/James action. :P**

**ChrisPgirl: Yay, so glad u like it! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Captainjack: Know how I thought of it? I randomly made Remus say, 'fancy going around naked?' and then had to think of a prank for that. Haha, how random am I? Took me awhile to find 'skivvies' on a British slang site! Heheheh.**

**Animalluvr75: Glad you thought it was funny. I did too! :P And here's chap 10 for ya! :)**

**Eat paper: I know eh? Not a pretty thought. Least he had those 2 textbooks, huh? ;)**

**Limbo-gal: Here's some Lily/James action for you! Enough I hope! :P**

**Some12: Sorryyyyy, I tried to get it up on the 24th. But. It's three days late. Hope u don't mind!**

**The all mighty and powerfulM: Ehh... hope u lived thru all the torture. o.o; lol I'm so mean.**

**Pamoola: I know. It's _supposed_ to say him; he's talking about her crazy brother, Luna Lovegood's dad! :D lol... why else would I make em complain about their homework? That part came straight from the heart. ;)**

**Prongs' Princess: Yup, this is it!! So glad u like it... hope I didn't make you scar ur sister for life! lol, j/k. **

**Ok I promised I was almost done but then I remembered...**

**100th reviewer gets a treat!! If u think ur the 100th reviewer, send me an email and tell me something u have in mind for the fic or I can put u in as a minor character or just dedicate the next chapter to you. Take ur pick!**

**Okay now I'm actually done. :P Don't forget to review!!**


	12. Feelings

**Hate Everything About You**

**Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realizes that this isn't true?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. I _do,_ however, own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.**

**A/N: Six months. I know. Just… read the chapter, heh.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven – Feelings

The next few weeks were a bit of a blur for Lily. Potter had barely spoken to her since their detention (thankfully), Mandy had begun attending more intense Quidditch practices for Gryffindor's match against Ravenclaw in November, and the sixth years' load of homework refused to back down.

Lily lay on her bed, facing the ceiling, her curtains fully open. She should have been down in the common room doing her homework, but as it was, Lily was sick and tired of any form of it – she couldn't even bring herself to practice some advanced charms that the class would be starting on the next day.

Sighing, Lily decided that thinking about how much she hated her homework wouldn't make it go away. She sat up and made to reach for her books to carry them downstairs, but decided that, for once, her never-ending essays could wait until later. Lying back down on her bed, Lily started to think about things other than homework – namely, Remus Lupin.

For a sixteen-year-old boy, Remus seemed as though he was anything but. Instead, he was mature, friendly, thoughtful, sweet and funny – there was no trace of deceitfulness, boyishness, or perverseness in him. He was honest, true, and absolutely perfect.

Lily reveled in memories of his warm, grey eyes, his tantalizing smile, his perfect hair – she _really_ wanted to run her hands through his hair –

Lily was startled by the sudden show of her hormones, as well as Mandy's sudden appearance at the dormitory door. Thoughts of Remus _nearly_ gone from her mind, she sat up to take in Mandy's muddy figure and stormy expression.

"What's wrong?" she provided when her best friend remained silent.

"Bloody Potter is what's wrong," Mandy grumbled. She trudged in and performed a cleaning spell on her Quidditch robes to rid them of mud.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "What's he done this time?"

"I've told you about our new Seeker, Lisa Chapman?" Lily nodded and Mandy continued, "Well, she's only in her second year and isn't half bad. A lot of potential. But Potter kept on…" She stopped, rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Kept on what?" Lily asked.

Mandy bit her lip, thinking. "I don't know… it was like he was trying to improve her. He would get frustrated with everything she did and tell her what to do and boss her around."

"Didn't Andrew do anything about it?" Lily questioned. Andrew Spinnet, a boy in his seventh year, was a Beater and the captain of Gryffindor's Quidditch team.

"That's the thing, he tried to shut him up. But bloody Potter insisted that he knew more about being a Seeker than anyone else on the team! And I told him, 'You can't be Seeker and _star Chaser_ all at once.'"

Lily silently congratulated her friend for showing Potter what was what and continued to listen.

"But then he whirled around and said, 'I'd shut my mouth if I were you, Kirkwood. You're not going to be captain next year, so why are you acting like it now? Now go guard your hoops and mind your own business.' It was so – he was so –"

Her eyes seemed to fill with tears and she began taking deep breaths, struggling to keep from crying.

The redhead got up from her bed wordlessly to give Mandy a reassuring hug. Potter hadn't ever been rude to Mandy – probably for the sole fact that she was Lily's friend – and this must have come as quite a surprise to her. Not only that, but what he had said was extremely hurtful.

Lily released her friend and found that the side of her head (the one that Mandy had rested her head against) was muddy. Although Mandy had gotten the muck off of her Quidditch robes, her face and hair were a whole different story.

"I guess we should both take a shower," Lily giggled.

Mandy grinned, no longer close to bursting into tears. "I'll wait for you to finish."

"No, it's fine," Lily said, "I'll use the Prefects' bathroom."

"Alright," she said, but as Lily turned to go, called out, "Wait, Lily!"

"Yes?"

"Don't – don't do anything to Potter, alright? He may be a git, but he's still a person. He still has feelings."

Lily was tempted to snort and make it clear to Mandy that Potter had no feelings whatsoever, but decided against it. Not only was Mandy in a fragile state, but she was also her friend.

"Sure. I won't hurt him," Lily sighed. "You know, sometimes you're just too nice for your own good… _Amanda_."

Lily grinned and ran away before Mandy could catch up to her and surely hex her to death – or worse.

* * *

Keeping up with the scheduling of Prefect rounds could be a complicated business if you weren't used to it. Every week, Prefects were paired with a different house. Thus, there were two 'groups' that alternated patrol nights for the week (not including Sunday; only the Head students had rounds seven nights a week) before the houses rotated again. Within the house pairings, students would patrol in partners with a Prefect in their year. 

This week, Prefect-wise, Gryffindor was paired with Slytherin and together, they were assigned rounds from 9-11p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Remus had spent Monday night ignoring Severus Snape's insults and Wednesday ignoring Fiona Fortescue's sulkiness (he still didn't know if it was because he was a half-blood or because he wasn't James), but it was tonight – Friday night – that he was dreading.

It would be his third time patrolling with Lily since that fateful afternoon when he'd agreed to help James win Lily's heart – or break it. Every time he spoke to her, Remus felt dreadfully guilty, knowing how she felt about him, yet being prepared to use that feeling to James' advantage.

Remus ran a hand over his face. It was October 25th – less than a week before Halloween and, to his dismay, three days before the full moon. This month's transformation would probably be harder on him than usual – James would have to spend part of the night finding fluxweed for the Polyjuice Potion, since it had to be picked at the full moon. That would mean that Remus' company would be reduced by one third; and his pain would probably double.

He sighed and busied himself in his schoolwork to take his mind off of the full moon. Just as he finished his work, his wristwatch beeped to tell him that it was time to leave for his patrol.

"Lily, Lily," Remus breathed. "Why must you fancy me?" With that, he set off to find his fellow Prefect.

* * *

Footsteps echoed through the hallways as two very quiet Prefects patrolled the fourth floor corridor. 

"Busy night, huh?" Lily said, unable to bear the silence any longer.

She saw Remus nod quietly and wondered what was on his mind that was so troubling.

"I mean it," Lily continued, desperate for conversation, "we haven't seen _one_ student out of bed tonight. Not one. That's got to be a record."

Remus smiled this time. "No, there was that one night last year…"

"That doesn't count; the castle was so frozen over that day that we had to wear our cloaks and hats inside! Nobody would have even _thought_ about sneaking around that night."

"Yeah, I guess," Remus said quietly and went back into his clouded state.

Lily tugged on her robes, which felt about as comfortable as the unnerving silence that the two had – yet again – encountered.

Remus spoke up after awhile. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Lily said, hoping desperately that his next question would include the words 'Hogsmeade,' 'tomorrow,' 'with,' and 'me.'

"What would you do if… if you agreed to do something for a friend that would end up hurting another friend?"

Although she should have been disappointed, Lily received this question with a considerable amount of surprise.

"I probably wouldn't do it, but I guess it would depend on who it is that you'll be helping and who you'll be hurting, as well as the possible extent of the damage. Sorry, Remus, I can't really help you with that."

"That's alright. I was just wondering."

"Well, why do you ask?"

Remus looked down and suddenly seemed very interested in his shoes.

"Okay, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to," Lily said, although she was dying to know what could possibly be stirring up his conscience.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"Can I ask you something, too?" Lily blurted out before she could stop herself.

Her companion looked up and regarded her with an interest that seemed mingled with some other emotion—was it dread? Finally, Remus nodded.

Swallowing, slowly gathering her courage, Lily asked, "If you fancied someone and you didn't know if they fancied you back… what would you do?"

Again, Remus looked at her as though observing a particularly interesting puddle of vomit. "I guess I'd—ask her if she fancied me?"

Lily frowned. "But what if you weren't up to hearing a no? What if you were too scared?"

"Then… I would forget her and move on," Remus lied.

Looking troubled at this advice, Lily said, "That doesn't seem very strong-willed, though, does it?"

"I guess not," Remus sighed. "Maybe that's just me."

"No, don't say that, you're—"

Lily was cut off as she tripped. Her stumble was so sudden that she sailed through the air, falling. Remus managed to catch her around the waist just before she landed face first on the stone floor and set her down gently.

"What just happened?" he asked, surprised.

"I don't know… I tripped over something…" Lily looked over to where she'd taken off to find that there was nothing there. In fact, there wasn't anything in the hallway at all save for Lily, Remus, and several sleeping portraits.

"How could I have tripped over nothing?" she said in disbelief.

Remus fidgeted. "Maybe it was Peeves. You never know what that troublemaker is up to."

"Yeah," Lily agreed. She took a step toward Remus. "Thank you for, you know, catching me."

"Um, you're welcome. It was nothing, really."

Lily took Remus' hand. "If you hadn't stopped me from falling, my face would have gotten bashed in—not to mention my brains, as well."

Remus withdrew his hand and tried to cover up by scratching his arm. He became uncomfortably aware of Lily's closeness as she took another step forward. He was even able to feel her breath on his chin and became acutely aware of how pretty Lily was. But this realization was made in such a platonic way that Remus couldn't help but feel bad for Lily—she had chosen the wrong person to fancy. They were just not meant to be.

Especially… since Lily was meant to be with James.

Remus stepped back and put his hands on the girl's shoulders. "Lily."

Lily looked down, understanding. She slowly shuffled over to the other side of the hallway and checked her watch.

"It's past eleven," she declared. "We should head back to Gryffindor Tower."

Remus nodded gloomily. There had always been a small, optimistic whisper in his heart that maybe, just maybe, Lily didn't fancy him. But what had happened just now muted the optimism and squashed what could have been Remus' only chance to remain friends with Lily. The reality hit Remus hard: she fancied him and there was nothing he could do about it except to exploit that feeling for his and James' own purposes.

* * *

The weekend slipped by unnoticed. There had been a gloomy, Sirius-deprived Hogsmeade visit (Saturday had been Sirius' last detention from 'The Skivvies Incident') during which James, Remus, and Peter had searched around for the last remaining ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion. 

By now, it was Monday, and there were only two ingredients left: the fluxweed to be picked at the full moon (which was tonight), and a piece of James' hair that was to be added into the Potion once it was complete, which it would be in just less than a fortnight.

James went over to the Hospital Wing to visit Remus before he left for the Shrieking Shack. After negotiating with Madame Pomfrey and finally conceding to her 'five-minutes-only' rule, James went inside and sat himself down at the edge of Remus' bed.

"Hey," he said, not expecting a response. Remus had been very quiet for the past three days—his impending transformation had drained him of the energy needed for out-of-classroom conversation. James found this rather unusual, despite the fact that pre-transformation fatigue affected Remus regularly; Remus was normally up for a chat, at least.

"Sorry I can't keep you company tonight, Moony," James said. "I know I've said it already… I just can't help but feel dreadful, leaving you with only Sirius and Peter to keep you from… you know."

He saw Remus nod beside him and was surprised to hear him speak voluntarily for possibly the first time in three days.

"I know that was you on Friday." Remus' voice was quiet, raspy; it seemed as though just to speak was hurting him.

James looked over to his friend and raised his eyebrows. "Am I that easy to figure out?"

Remus smiled. "I heard you; you swore when she tripped. You're lucky Lily didn't hear it."

"Yeah. She tripped over my foot," he explained, but when he saw Remus' expression he knew that he would have to elaborate. "I wanted to see her. I wanted to see how Lily felt about you… to make sure that our plan will work. So I put on the Invisibility Cloak and… accompanied you during your rounds."

Despite his fatigue, Remus looked uncomfortable. "And?"

James nodded. "She really likes you. You're a lucky man, mate."

"I don't know about that. Try telling me that I'm lucky _after_ Lily bites both our heads off next week."

Grinning, James was about to protest when Madame Pomfrey shooed him away, insisting that her patient was sick and was surely weary of receiving such stubborn visitors.

He stood in the corridor outside, checking to make sure there was nobody around before donning his Invisibility Cloak and making his way quietly over to the Entrance Hall.

It was past nine o'clock and very dark when James got outside. He looked at the vast school grounds and thought to himself, 'How am I supposed to find fluxweed if it's too dark to see anything? Even if it was midday, I've no idea what fluxweed looks like.'

This was a problem James hadn't thought would arise. He and his friends had managed to gather most of the ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion either from Hogsmeade or from their uninvited visit to the Potions master's private cupboard. The fluxweed, since it had to be picked during the full moon, was a very particular ingredient and the only one that the boys were unsure of as to where it could be found.

They had decided, then, to play with their luck: surely fluxweed could be found _somewhere_ in the Hogwarts grounds or the Forbidden Forest.

Feeling a rush of genius, James took out his wand and called, "Accio fluxweed!"

Nothing happened. It was quite apparent that the Summoning Charm would not work if the Summoner didn't have a clear image of what exactly it was that he or she was trying to Summon.

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Time for Plan B.

The only problem was that there _wasn't_ a Plan B—not yet, anyway. After thinking for awhile, James decided to put a Summoning Charm to better use: "Accio Herbology textbook!"

This time, the Charm was successful and James followed the book's progress as it flew down from his dormitory window in Gryffindor Tower. He caught the book once it reached him and pried it open.

"Lumos." His wand lit, James flipped quickly through the book for any pictures or information concerning fluxweed. Perhaps his search was _too_ quick—both the pages flying by and the limited amount of wand light caused him to see little more than blurs of ink on each page.

Closing the book, he set it down on the ground and rested the tip of his wand on the front cover. James muttered an Indicator Charm, a very useful piece of charm-work that, as he'd heard Lily say when they'd learnt it in class in September, was "like an index, but simpler." When the incantation was uttered, followed by the word one was looking for, each page with said word written on it would glow a pale blue that would darken if the word appeared more than once. Naturally, this was an extremely useful Charm when it came to conducting research for essays—especially during NEWT years.

A small section (only about ten pages, really) of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ was glowing a deep blue, with paler-glowing pages dispersed throughout the rest of the book. Needless to say, James went right to the dark section in search of a picture of fluxweed to accompany the pages' numerous mentions of it.

Said picture was easy to find (it showed a fluxweed plant budding, growing, dying, then starting all over again) and James quickly found himself searching all over the grounds for something that even remotely resembled the textbook's illustration.

"Fluxweed looks remarkably like grass," James found himself thinking as he stooped over to examine a possible candidate in his search. Judging by his lack of success in the last slow, silent quarter hour and by the fact that the Hogwarts grounds were so incredibly vast, James could tell that his expedition would take longer than he'd bargained for.

To pass the time, James began running through imaginary scenarios in his head of how adoring Lily would be when the Marauders' plan pulled through.

_Oh, James,_ Lily would say to Remus after he'd taken the Polyjuice Potion, _I don't know how I could have possibly been so oblivious to your charm these past few years… Oh, yes, I would love to go out with you…_

Then, during their Hogsmeade visit together (with the real James this time, of course): _You are so funny, James! I'm so glad that you chose me to be your girlfriend…_

And one day, James would confess, _Lily, the day I asked you out… That wasn't me, it was Remus using a Polyjuice Potion._ But Lily would laugh and say, _Wow, really? I couldn't tell the difference! Well, I'm glad that your plan worked or else I never would have realized what a great bloke you are… and what a good kisser, too…_

James drifted out of his reverie, slowly returning to a reality in which Lily had not yet fallen head over heels for him. A reality in which he had not yet found the fluxweed.

James looked up to see that he had somehow made a beeline to the greenhouses. It was then, right when it was in his face, that it hit him. _The greenhouses!_ There were magical plants to be found there, obviously. How could he have forgotten this treasure trove of possibility?

Trying to remember during which year, if any, he had studied fluxweed in Herbology, James made his way into a greenhouse and searched.

He had reached his third greenhouse, Greenhouse Four (he'd gone in reverse order), when he found precisely what he was looking for. He stooped over to pluck a few sprigs of fluxweed that were softly lit both by his wand and the moonlight coming through the glass roof.

James was quietly triumphant as he crept back into the school to mix the fluxweed into the Polyjuice Potion.

* * *

The Halloween Feast came and went and Lily found herself in quite a good mood. The food had been delicious as per usual, and the decorations had been particularly fetching. Not only that, but the Marauders had not pulled off a single prank; in fact, they had been absent for a good half of the feast. That had made Lily particularly glad, aside from the fact that Remus hadn't been there, of course. 

Her friends, too, had seemed to be in a cheerful mood. Amber was more buoyant than she had been in weeks as she, Lily, Mandy, and Alice shared the huge box of sweets that she'd received from her mother. Mandy seemed excited rather than stressed about the Quidditch match that was happening in less than a fortnight (probably just a temporary effect from the chocolates), and Alice was peacefully happy like she always was, unfazed by her high amount of sugar intake.

Lily munched slowly on a chocolate, letting the flavour spread through her mouth.

"I love Halloween," she murmured.

Her friends nodded in agreement.

"I have an idea!" Mandy exclaimed, "Halloween can be our lucky day!"

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you know how on your birthday, if something good happens to you, it's always 'because it's your birthday.' Halloween can be a day like that for us, too!"

"That's… interesting," voiced Alice.

"I think it's the sugar talking," Amber supplied.

Eventually, though, they all agreed to name Halloween their "lucky day" and went to bed soon after.

The next morning, the girls were still in unbreakable good moods. They pranced down to breakfast and ate and chatted happily, not at all dismayed that they had Double Potions that day.

It was not until the post owls came that they realized that something was wrong. An inexplicable hush came over the Great Hall as Daily Prophets were dropped onto laps and tables.

"What's so mortifying about having your daily newspaper delivered?" Mandy whispered.

Lily shrugged and followed with her eyes her own copy of the newspaper as it descended onto her empty plate. What had begun as a casual glance at the front page turned into a wide-eyed stare.

"Mandy, take a look at this," she said with obvious dread in her voice.

On the front page of the Daily Prophet was a huge, magical photograph of a wreckage—a whole residential street reduced to piles of wood and ash, with dead bodies lying on the ground, and Emergency Healers running to and fro. And, above it all, there hung the Dark Mark.

_MUGGLES SLAUGHTERED IN A MERCILESS DEATH EATER ATTACK_ was the headline. Lily's first reaction was to scan hurriedly through the article to find out where it had happened…

Lily sighed quietly, guiltily relieved to see that the attack had been many miles away from where her parents lived. But it was still a horror to see the picture and to read about this horrible massacre, even if it did not affect her directly.

There were many minutes of silence throughout the Great Hall as people read the article and a few whispers were exchanged. Finally, students began to leave for their morning classes and Lily was reminded that she still had a whole day ahead of her.

Lily stood up robotically and headed out of the Great Hall. Mandy followed her; Alice and Amber had left earlier.

Mandy squeezed Lily's arm in comfort. She was feeling the same way.

"I – I guess Halloween isn't our lucky day anymore," she whispered, her voice thick as though she were on the verge of tears.

Lily looked over to her friend and hugged her. She had never seen Mandy make jokes without a huge grin on her face and, although still saddened by the killings, Lily was glad that her friend was such a compassionate being.

"How about Christmas, instead?" Lily smiled.

Mandy nodded and managed to grin while wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

The two friends continued walking in silence until Mandy spoke up again, several minutes later.

"Promise me something, Lils?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't ever let anyone kill you like that. Don't let anyone else decide that it's your time to die. Die on your own terms, okay Lils?"

"Okay."

"Because that's what I'm going to do," Mandy said forcibly. "Nobody is going to make me die. But, Lils… if I die before you do, promise me you won't cry. Because, no matter what, I would have died because I allowed myself to. Promise me you won't cry."

Lily smiled, but couldn't bring herself to say anything because she was crying already.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, remember me? Sigh. Here is a chapter that was extremely painful to write and… well, I don't have to remind you how long it took. School is something that really makes you forget that you have a fanfic to write. That, and the little free time you have after you're done procrastinating on your homework is time that is spent relaxing and NOT doing more work (namely, writing—and when you've got writer's block it IS work, I am sorry to say).**

**In any case, if you want to know what on earth I am up to in terms of writing, go to my LiveJournal, **

**Ah yes, and a big thank you to as their site contained very useful information that I could not have found on my own as someone was borrowing my copies of the first three Harry Potter books.**

**Okay, reviewer-thanking time (I'll try to make it short):**

**Limbo-gal – Thanks! Heh, you'll just have to wait and see what happens…**

**Jessiquie – Aww, thank you! Yeah, it's true that she'd fall for Remus as opposed to James… but in James' mind, it's just a trivial detail. What a guy.**

**Starrydreams – The because game IS rather awesome, n'est-ce pas? Lol.**

**Tikvah Ariel – Yeah, I was stupid before and thought, "Hey I'm lazy so why not make the Muggle world so that it's present day so that they can have all this high-tech stuff?" But I will eventually (hopefully soon) edit those stupid parts out. (By the way... you're the 100th reviewer! Congrats!)**

**SeleneA – Thanks so much! I'm really glad that you think that Lily's in character… it's what I was going for! Aww, you were so close to being reviewer 100, but you got 101 instead!**

**Itami Kitsune – Lol, Betsy, how random of you. Glomps you!**

**Fallen-Snow – You're so cool. I just had to say that, lol. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for so long that you forgot about my fanfic altogether!**

**Prongs' Princess – So much going on… Yeah, I _definitely_ know how it is, lol.**

**Thanks also to Jen-bob-ohio, Eggo Waffles, PhyloNish, Isabielle, and Xaphien!**

**And congrats to Tikvah Ariel, who was the 100th reviewer (Cough. Six months ago.)! What shall I do for you?**


	13. Deception

**Hate Everything About You**

**Summary: Lily Evans is convinced that James Potter is bad down to the core. What happens when she realizes that this isn't true?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's characters, locations, or other such ideas. I _do,_ however, own Mandy, Amber, and other random characters in the story.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Deception

The potion was finally ready after a month of secret preparations. The Marauders were grouped solemnly around Sirius' spare cauldron, watching the thick concoction bubble. Its violent hissing echoed through the secret passageway that led from Hogwarts to the Honeydukes storage room in Hogsmeade.

Remus tightened his grip around a flask he was holding. It was time.

Taking a deep breath, he carefully ladled some potion into the flask, careful not to spill any. James handed him a freshly-plucked strand of his hair. Remus held it and looked at it, willing himself not to feel guilty, before finally dropping it into his flask as well. The potion's colour instantly took on a hue of midnight blue.

Doubtful about the consequences of his next action, yet sure that he would have to take it, Remus gulped down the flask of Polyjuice Potion. He did it quickly, so as to prevent himself any time in which to change his mind.

The potion took effect immediately. Remus started to transform, a process which was painful, and yet vaguely familiar. He realized that it was the same type of pain that he experienced once a month—although this one, thankfully, was on a smaller scale.

His friends stood watching in astonishment as Remus slowly morphed into a taller, dark-haired replica of James. He had already been wearing a spare set of James' robes and shoes; only now did they finally feel comfortable. James reached for his wand, conjured a set of glasses identical to his own, and handed them to Remus.

He put the glasses on and suddenly, everything was clearer. Peter held a pocket mirror up to Remus' face. Or, rather, James' face.

Remus-James nodded, feeling more confident now that he knew that the Polyjuice Potion had been effective. "Good. I have an hour now, right?" he asked, and was surprised to hear James' voice come out of his mouth. It was a weird feeling.

The other three nodded uncertainly; having a second 'James' right in front of them must have been rather unnerving.

"Well, I'd better get going, then. You guys clean up, I'll meet you later in the dormitory." With that, Remus headed back up the passageway and found himself standing beside the statue of the one-eyed witch five minutes later.

'Now, where to look for Lily…' He made up his mind awhile later and headed off to Gryffindor Tower, hoping that he would find her there.

Inside the common room, however, Remus saw not Lily, but her friends.

"Uh, do you girls know where Lily is?" Remus-James asked them while trying to muss up his hair in imitation of the real James.

Mandy, a usually good-natured girl in his year, eyed who she thought was James rather suspiciously. "Why would you want to know?"

Remus was unsure of his next move. Should he act like James and put on an arrogant grin? No, not if he was planning on winning Lily's heart. "I – uh… I was hoping maybe I could talk to her…"

The girls looked up at him sympathetically and he knew that his hurt-puppy face was working. Despite a slight twinge of guilt, Remus felt triumphant. If it was that simple to melt their frosty outsides, Lily would be almost as easy to win over.

"I think she's in the library, but don't go too hard on her, okay?" Alice said in a tone so sweet it was almost motherly.

Remus nodded and smiled his thanks, then proceeded out of the common room. He walked briskly, choosing the shortest possible route to the library. He knew that his time was limited – fifteen minutes were gone already! He quickened his pace.

Remus was about two-thirds of the way to the library when a group of girls appeared in front of him. He peered at them, trying to remember why they looked familiar other than some of them being in his classes. Oh no, were these –

"Hi, James," a girl named Larissa said flirtatiously. The statement seemed to echo as the other girls in the group repeated it.

– James' admirers. Remus' stomach clenched. Why did James have to be so bloody popular?

"Hi," he grunted and tried to push past them, but Larissa managed to grab his arm.

"You and me this weekend? Where do you want to go?"

Remus frowned in thought. Who was it that James had been going out with recently? He'd thought Larissa had been James' girlfriend during fourth year… "Are you… my girlfriend?" he asked, just to make sure, but felt stupid nonetheless.

Larissa and some of the other girls giggled. "No, silly, Katie was, until you dumped her this morning. But I _could_ be your girlfriend if you want me to be!" She twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

"Oh… um, no, sorry. I – you kind of… creep me out," Remus said earnestly, mussing James' hair.

Fake, forced tears welled up in Larissa's eyes. "What? Am I too _fat?_" she screamed, and ran away to the nearest girls' loo.

After barely a second of stunned silence, a girl, followed by another, and another, asked excitedly, "Can _I_ be your girlfriend, then, James?"

The noise was giving Remus a headache. "Leave me alone! I don't want a girlfriend right now, okay?" he shouted over the noise of the too-eager girls trying to get him to choose one of them to go out with.

He managed to pass the girls this time and continued on his way to the library, only to have another girl grab his arm. Remus kept walking, hoping to shake her off, but she walked with him, clinging to his arm.

"Can't you at least tell us a joke?" she said, and stood on her toes in attempt to lay her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Remus exclaimed, pulling his arm out of her grasp. 'It is _so bloody hard_ to be James with all of his annoying admirers following me!' he thought angrily as he turned around to face the girls, his wand out.

"Are you mad, Jamesie?" one girl gasped.

Remus scoffed. "Yes, furious. Murderous, even," he said sarcastically, "So much so that you'd better stay away if you value your lives." It was hard to keep from rolling his eyes.

The clingy girl giggled nervously. "Jamesiepoo (Remus snorted), you know you'd never hurt _me!_ Especially not since we're going to be at the Astronomy Tower tonight, snogging each other's lights out."

Staring, Remus would have laughed if not for the fact that he was completely disgusted by this proposition. "When did I ever agree on snogging you?" he demanded furiously.

"You just did," the clingy girl giggled.

"Ugh! Just get away from me! I don't even know your name! Leave me ALONE, okay?" With that, Remus turned and ran as fast as he could to the library, leaving James' admirers behind and knowing that he'd already wasted twenty of his precious minutes.

Remus slowed down as he reached the library doors. He leaned against the wall for a moment, waiting for his breathing to slow down and for his anger and shock to subside; he didn't want that stupid run-in to ruin James' chance of finally going out with Lily.

He shook his head, still rather angry about what had just happened. "How did I agree to this?" he said aloud before entering the library quietly. Here came the hard part.

* * *

Lily pounded her forehead against the tabletop in frustration (she had adopted Amber's annoying habit of doing this), feeling as though she'd lost all hope. Her six-foot long Potions essay was so stressful that it was driving her nuts, and pounding her forehead on the table wasn't doing much to help her finish it.

In the midst of all the banging, Lily was surprised to feel somebody lay their hand on her shoulder. She stopped bashing her forehead in and instead let it rest on the table's surface. Who was standing behind her? Could it be Remus? Lily decided that her best plan of action would be to lift her head and find out.

She turned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, hello, Potter," she greeted coldly.

"Hi, Lily," he said in a tone that was anything but cold and sat down in the chair beside her. "Why were you giving yourself a concussion?" he inquired innocently, still with a warm tone to his voice.

Lily looked at James. This wasn't like him… he was being… _nice._ Nice, and not arrogant or, well, horny. She frowned before realizing that he'd asked her a question.

"Oh, right, that. I wasn't giving myself a concussion, I was banging my head in frustration," she said matter-of-factly.

"Um… why?"

Lily leaned back in her chair, folded her arms, and nodded towards her essay.

"Ouch, that Potions one. Pain in the behind, that one is."

Lily was again surprised at James' sudden lack of arrogance as well as swearing. She sighed. 'Might as well talk to him while he's not being a prat,' Lily thought, knowing that she'd gone mad. Was it desperation? She had no idea.

"I've written two out of six feet's worth of information; that's only a third of what I should be writing, but that's everything I know! I mean, what else is there to know about the Aging Potion?"

James picked up the parchment and skimmed through it. "Well, you've said who invented it, but not how… You've mentioned the ingredients; try writing out the significance of each one. If you still don't have enough, just elaborate with specific examples of how it's been used and all that."

Lily's eyes widened. "Wow, you're good, Potter! I've no clue why those ideas didn't occur to me… No wonder you're a top student."

James smiled – just _smiled_. No arrogant grinning, no 'but of course, I'm the greatest guy ever, want to go out with me?' type of stuff. Just a warm, friendly smile. Lily was astonished even further when he said, "Feel free to use my ideas. I've already finished my essay, and it's nothing like yours. Mine's a load of garbage, really, but I don't really care – who wants to rewrite six feet on Aging Potions?"

"Snape might want to," Lily chuckled, snapping out of her state of shock. "Anyway, thanks for all that. I, uh, I'm done for today, though. I'm sick of all this work." She started packing away her things and James bent down to help her.

As they stood up, James began, "Lily…"

'Oh no, here it comes. Just when I thought he'd changed miraculously overnight,' Lily thought to herself.

"Yes?"

"D'you maybe want to go for a walk? Just, you know, to talk awhile?"

She tried not to stare at James incredulously. "Umm, sure, I guess."

Lily was beyond confused. Why on earth was Potter being kind and polite? Why did he sound unsure of himself, for once in his lifetime? They walked awkwardly toward the Entrance Hall, side by side. Lily began to worry about being seen with Potter, but somehow found that she didn't care much. Instead, she found herself worrying for her sanity.

Opening the oak double doors, the two were immediately met with the cold November wind. Lily shivered slightly.

"Want to get your cloak?" James asked.

"No, I'll be fine…"

She regretted it immediately as they stepped outside and tried not to shiver too noticeably. She stuffed her hands inside her sweatshirt pockets to warm them up at least a little bit.

Lily tilted her head up toward the sky as they walked aimlessly through the Hogwarts grounds. The clear, bright blue of the sky above her was gorgeous – although green was her favourite colour (mainly because of her eyes), blue was a close second. She momentarily forgot about the cold, the wind, and even about James as she gazed upwards into the sky's depths.

She snapped out of her reverie as she heard James say from beside her, "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

Looking over at him, she smiled and nodded. They continued to walk, now meandering toward the lake, and Lily again got lost in her thoughts; this time, her thoughts concerning James.

She knew that she was supposed to hate him, and maybe… maybe she still did. But _this_ James was not the normal James, he wasn't the one she hated; the one that constantly asked her out and flirted with her. _This_ James had done nothing of the sort – nothing at all that would suggest that he fancied her. In fact, he'd been nothing but nice to her in these past twenty-five, thirty minutes.

Minutes which, under normal circumstances, would have been seconds. And only on a good day.

Lily cast a sideways glance at James only to find that he wasn't there. She stopped walking and turned around to see where he'd gone. Sure enough, there he was, just fifty metres behind her (but catching up fast, as he was jogging over) with a cloak in hand.

As soon as he caught up to Lily, he draped the cloak over her shoulders and adjusted its position until it fit snugly around her.

This behaviour was so out-of-the-ordinary that all Lily could muster up in her bewildered state was a simple, "Thanks."

"No problem," James said casually and reached up to ruffle his hair, a small smile on his face.

As they resumed their walk, Lily was overcome with the necessity to say _something_ and blurted out, "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Yes, I did. You were shivering like mad – how could I _not_ summon Ja- my cloak for you?"

Lily, although gratified, regarded him funnily. "Well why yours? You could have summoned mine."

James smiled. "That's not what a gentleman would do. Plus, if I'm not allowed to go into the girls' dormitories physically, it hardly seems right to go about summoning mysterious items from within their depths."

Lily had to laugh at this. She wrapped James' cloak tighter around herself as a bigger gust of wind blew rather viciously.

"What about you?" she inquired, "Why don't you have a cloak? Aren't you cold?"

"No, I'm fine. Plus, you're wearing my cloak, remember?"

"Oh, right," Lily looked down and smiled a bit. "Thanks again."

They finally reached the lake and began walking along its vast shore, marveling at its sparkling beauty.

"Pity the lake never freezes," Lily spoke.

"Why? I like it better this way."

"Hmm, you're right," Lily agreed, "We wouldn't want our mate the giant squid to be trapped under there, would we?" They both chuckled.

After a moment of peaceful silence, James suddenly spoke.

"Can I – hold your hand, Lily?"

"No!" Lily said quickly, drawing her hands away upon reflex. She immediately felt sorry for acting so meanly and tried to think up an excuse. "Sorry, it's just –" Rubbing her hands together, Lily tried smudging some ink that she'd accidentally spilt on them earlier. "– My hands have ink all over, see?" She held them up for him.

James sighed, but smiled. "It's alright if you don't want to hold my hand, you know."

Lily looked down at her feet, blushing slightly. He was being so thoughtful and she, Lily, was… well, she wasn't being as thoughtful. She looked back up at James, trying to read his face.

"Sorry. It's kind of hard for just this one day to erase more than five years of… erm, dislike," Lily explained apologetically.

James nodded. "I understand. You, uh – you probably fancy somebody else, anyway, am I right?"

"Yeah," Lily admitted with a small smile. "But he's always too busy prancing around with his crazy Marauder friends to notice me, aside from the Prefe-" She flushed. "Oops, too much information."

James chuckled. "So you fancy Remus, huh? He thought so and told me. Sorry – it's a guy thing. You girls probably tell each other if a boy fancies you as well, though, don't you?"

Lily nodded.

"So about Remus," James continued, "he's pretty honoured that you like him and all, but he won't allow himself to like you in… a more-than-platonic way."

"Why not?" Lily asked, slightly hurt.

"Well, 'cause he knows I love you too much – I wouldn't be able to bear it."

Lily flushed.

All of a sudden, James stopped walking, and Lily followed suit. He turned so that he was facing her, with his back to the lake. Lily, not knowing what to expect, turned to face James as well.

"What?" she asked as he smiled at her.

"You're so beautiful, Lil. Can't I at least have a hug?" he begged.

Lily rolled her eyes, and for once, it was in a playful manner. "Oh, alright."

She took a few steps toward him and moved her arms to wrap them around his neck, a difficult task considering his height. She didn't know why she was doing this, but she found herself smiling as she stood on tip toe to reach higher. Then, when she looked into James' warm grey eyes, she stopped, her arms suspended in mid-air.

Weren't James' eyes hazel?

Her own eyes widened as James' jet-black hair rapidly turned to a sandy blonde.

Lily realized what was going on and with this realization returned her ability to move. She placed her hands on James' chest, and, with all her might, pushed him into the lake.

Surely enough, the person who came bobbing back up seconds later was none other than Remus Lupin.

"That was uncalled for, Lily," Remus sputtered as he treaded water. However, as soon as the words escaped from his mouth, he seemed to pause, realizing that he'd turned back into himself.

"Uncalled for?" Lily shrilled. "_Uncalled for!_ That whole time I thought I was having a civil conversation with James; I thought I'd uncovered a side of him that _isn't_ a complete idiot, only to find that this 'side' was just Remus Lupin using a Polyjuice Potion!

"And yes, Lupin, I did figure it out that quickly," she said in response to his facial expression as he continued to tread water. "And – and you _knew_ that I fancied you! You were purposely toying with my emotions to try and get me to… what, to _shag_ Potter or something equally as INSANE and you call pushing you into the lake _in shock_ UNCALLED FOR?

"I would say that Potter's a madman for, not only trying to ask me out all of the time, but for not caring whether or not it's _who he really is _that I fall for, but really, it's YOU who's the madman. You, Remus Lupin, the most sensible man I know aside from my father and Dumbledore. Is this how you react to any girl who fancies you? You pretend to be Potter so that she goes out with him instead and you get a load off your back? Well I'll say, Potter is not only innocent of being a madman, he's innocent of being a PLAYER as well! Because that position has been officially filled by _you_."

Lily breathed heavily, and in spite of Remus' feeble attempts to stop her, felt compelled to complete her speech.

So she did. "Do you not have _any_ feelings? Do you not care that I was head over heels for you, and that since the end of fifth year I was trying to convince myself that we're better off as friends? I – I almost thought that I was in… in _love_ with you, my goodness! Because you were so perfect to me… But no, these things are too good to be true. I should have known! What with Petunia, and Potter, and now you – I can't… believe you did that. I can't believe you're so inconsiderate…"

Overwhelmed by a need for physical support, Lily turned and walked a few paces away from the shore to sit herself down on the grass. She tore at it, taking whole clumps of it out of the ground, shredding the grass into tiny pieces while trying to sort out the jumble of confusion and betrayal in her mind.

She heard water splash as Remus came out of the lake and tried to ignore the sound of his footsteps toward her.

He reached her and took in a breath, about to speak.

"I don't want to hear it," Lily said flatly, continuing to shred the grass.

Remus tentatively sat down beside her and seemed to relax when she didn't do anything to stop him. He, too, began pulling at some grass.

"I had no idea that you felt that way, Lily," he said quietly several minutes later.

Lily looked up at him. "_No idea I felt that way?_ Well _that's_ a load of bollocks! You knew full well how I felt, otherwise you wouldn't have gone and heartlessly exploited my feelings!"

Hanging his head, Remus said softly, "I'm so sorry, Lily."

She stood up. "Stop digging a deeper hole for yourself. You're not sorry, Remus Lupin. If you're sorry for anything, it's that the potion ran out too early, and nothing more. Because you are _not_ sorry that you hurt my feelings, and nothing you say will make me believe otherwise because you and I both know that it's the truth."

With that, she stalked off toward the castle, glad that Remus didn't follow her because she just couldn't restrain her tears any longer.

* * *

**A/N: Oooh, I updated quickly for once! I personally love this chapter… most of it was pre-written in one of my many notebooks over a long period of time (I think I started during the summer, if not before that) so it wasn't too hard at all to get through it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Reviews:**

**Silverfingers – **Oh, right, Sirius IS supposed to be better-looking than James… About the MP3s and stuff; yeah, I edited that part out (well I've only edited chapter 5 and under so far), so if you read it over it's all gone now!

**Itami – **I'd have to say that you're cool like that.

**Realmer06 – **Yeah, I really wish he would have sat her down and told her, but seeing as I love creating drama… Bwahaha. Glad you like it!

**Starrydreams – **REJOICE! Lol, haha. Can't wait till next year, huh?

**Tina – **Sorry, I tend to take my time with these things. This, however, was one of my fastest updates in a loooong time, hope it was fast enough!

**Philippa – **Wow! I'm so honoured! There are some _really_ awesome Harry Potter fics, though. Go look at my favourites… unless you've read them all already, heheh.

**Thanks so much everyone!**

**Reviews for this chapter would be awesome, you know how much I love them.**


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